Can the Q-Collar Protect You From Concussion?
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
Over recent years, scientists and the media have shone a light on concussions.
A new device is promoting its ability to protect the brain from impact (Q-Collar).
With any new fitness and health device on the market, it is important to see through the marketing hype, and drill down on the science.
While it may be better than nothing, the actual effectiveness of the Q-Collar is still questionable, and more research is needed.
Concussion in Sport
Concussions have risen to the forefront of sport science over the last decade. Research continues to illuminate a whole host of problems. Depression, personality changes, memory loss and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) have all been linked back to concussion incidence, and high-profile suicides - as in the cases of NFL lineman Junior Seau and NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard - have been posthumously connected to CTE, further shining a spotlight on the need for better recognition, prevention and treatment of concussions.
Without getting too deep into the nitty gritty, a concussion is a form of mild traumatic brain trauma that occurs when force is transmitted into the brain, causing it to ‘bounce’ off the inside of the bony skull. This type of injury is invisible to conventional medical imaging (x-ray, MRI, CT), as it is a physiological injury that alters the internal chemical environment of the brain, as opposed to the physical structure itself.
The increased interest in all-things concussion has led to more research, international conferences, and the development of guidelines to aid in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The current consensus indicates that most simple concussions in adults resolve in 7-10 days. In terms of treatment, the old advice of sitting in a dark room for that time has been abandoned, with more experts advocating for mild exercise to tolerance, and a graduated return-to-play protocol.
When Marketing Takes Over
While we may not always want to see it or believe it, health care advertising is a real thing, and when new markets emerge, as in the case of concussion, there are many brands who will jump at the opportunity to plaster their innovation story everywhere and be first to market.
For example, many sport organizations use pre-season baseline concussion testing as way to measure healthy brain function before an injury occurs. Should a concussion take place, that data becomes useful as a comparison in aiding an athlete’s readiness to return to play. Teams should be commended for implementing these in-depth exams prior to the season to help better protect the brain health of the athlete. This type of testing often requires a significant amount of resources in terms of both time and personnel, as they can be quite comprehensive, including both physical and neuropsychological examinations.
Based on the research and success of pre-season concussion testing, many commercial companies push computer-based tests to organizations to independently implement with a team before a season begins. Unfortunately, the validity and reliability of these computer-only based tests are highly suspect, but they are easy to market based on concussion fears, and so they have been readily embraced by teams.
Enter: The Woodpecker
The newest health device in the concussion industry making the rounds (for a few years now) is a product called the Q-Collar. Originally sold as the Neuroshield, it was formulated based on observation of animals that are naturally protected from head trauma - like the woodpecker - a bird famous for repetitively smashing its face into the hard bark of a tree at high velocity.
The concept of the collar is fairly easy to grasp: it wraps around the neck and mildly compresses the jugular vein, reducing the amount of blood that leaves the brain. By leaving more fluid in the skull, it better cushions the brain during impact. Imagine a golf ball in a bowl of shallow water sloshing around. Fill the bowl with more water and watch the protective effect of the water on the golf ball.
It seems like common sense: The company investigated how the woodpecker mitigates such high-velocity impacts and transferred that design to humans. And that’s what the Q-Collar claims to do.
Bingo! Genius! Bravo! Let’s save some brains and make some bucks!
But here’s the problem. Humans aren’t woodpeckers.
Brain Protection Devices
The issues began to arise when we assume that a woodpecker and a human are similar, where in reality, the woodpecker has naturally evolved a multitude of mechanisms to protect their brains from high-velocity impacts. There are a number of issues to consider:
We don’t actually know if woodpeckers avoid neuropathology, which really undercuts the whole premise of the device.
The woodpecker does not use jugular occlusion in the way commercial devices use jugular occlusion, The woodpecker has a bone that wraps itself around the brain like a seat belt that researchers think MAY partially occlude the jugular vein with each peck.
The woodpecker has multiple spongy bones in the forehead meant to help absorb and disperse impact.
The beaks and thick neck muscles of the woodpecker helps absorb some of the impact.
The skull of a woodpecker is relatively smaller than a human, meaning there is less space for the brain to slosh around.
The predictable and repetitive nature of the woodpecker crashing its beak into the bark of a tree is very different from the unpredictable impacts that occur in sport. A rotational force to the head is thought to impart the most damaging effects to the brain (think of wringing out a sponge), something a woodpecker never has to deal with.
Taken altogether, it seems the company has taken one concept the woodpecker uses that appears to be part of a bigger suite of protective mechanisms, and applied it to humans.
The Issue of Risk
There would be fewer helmet-on-helmet hits if we took away helmets! (Note: Don’t take away helmets!!!)
Another issue arises when protective equipment is introduced into a sport - an increase in risky behavior. When a player is given a piece of equipment and is told that it will protect them from a specific injury, it often comes with riskier behavior that may mitigate the protective benefits.
For example, in an attempt to reduce ice hockey injuries to the face due to high sticks, the league implemented mandatory half-visors for all players. The counter-argument is that when more safety equipment is introduced, the players actually become more reckless with their sticks, negating the protective effects of the safety equipment.
The protective device offers a sense of security, increasing risky behaviors and counteracting the perceived benefit of the equipment. This recent study linked here helps explain this amazing nuance of human behavior.
Take the Good with the Bad
The marketing material of the Q-Collar never explicitly states that it can prevent concussions, but the implication is there. The material states that it may reduce brain injury, and they back that statement with studies showing reduced changes in the white matter of the brain in those who wear the collar. This may very well prove to be beneficial in the long run, but much more research is required before pushing this as a mass-market concussion prevention device.
Given the sport’s propensity for smashing each other into the face, it is interesting that none of the studies performed by the company have involved boxing, or other forms of mixed martial arts, a sport that would benefit greatly from a device that could mitigate brain trauma as they claim.
It remains to be seen whether the Q-Collar will stand the test of time and help stem the number of concussions we see in sport. For now, the best concussion prevention techniques will always occur via the teaching of proper hitting techniques, reducing risky behaviors and encouraging a high degree of spatial awareness at all times when on the field of play.