Q-Collar...anybody using one of these?

[SeeingEyeDog]

https://q30.com/

Greetings brothers,

     While watching DAL @ TB last weekend, I noticed Dalton Schultz wearing one of these devices on his neck called a Q-Collar. Upon reading through their website a bit, it seems it's a device that is supposed to help prevent, and or reduce the effects of, concussions. I sent an email into their general address and got a message back the next day indicating that while they have not tested the Q-Collar on baseball umpires, they expect it would provide the same benefits to umpires as it does to athletes and others who seek protection for the brain in contact situations. $200 is a lot of money...

     Anybody using one of these? Thoughts in general?

~Dawg  

[Matt Arcovio]

Just had a discussion about these with some folks “in the know”. Not much good data on the effectiveness of these. 

[Velho]

54 minutes ago, Matt Arcovio said:

Just had a discussion about these with some folks “in the know”. Not much good data on the effectiveness of these. 

Yeah. The website was mostly a "it couldn't hurt" sales pitch.

[BT_Blue]

Not sure how something that goes around your neck can help protect your brain. But I'm also just a normal idiot in the crowd. So who knows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

Not sure how something that goes around your neck can help protect your brain. But I'm also just a normal idiot in the crowd. So who knows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to their website, the pressure by the collar promotes maximum blood flow to the brain...

~Dawg 

[BLWizzRanger]

The one doctor featured on the website, Dr Bailes, led the study for CTS in NFL players. So there should be some credibility with the studies for it.



Sent from my SM-F721U1 using Tapatalk

[The Man in Blue]

8 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

According to their website, the pressure by the collar promotes maximum blood flow to the brain...

~Dawg 

I’m no medical person … but the way I understood/read it was that it actually impaired blood flow (pressure to the vein) away from the cranium.  This essentially caused “swelling” (maybe a drastic overstatement on my part) that provides more cushion.

Interesting theory.

 

[834k3r]

On 1/20/2023 at 11:22 AM, SeeingEyeDog said:

https://q30.com/

Greetings brothers,

     While watching DAL @ TB last weekend, I noticed Dalton Schultz wearing one of these devices on his neck called a Q-Collar. Upon reading through their website a bit, it seems it's a device that is supposed to help prevent, and or reduce the effects of, concussions. I sent an email into their general address and got a message back the next day indicating that while they have not tested the Q-Collar on baseball umpires, they expect it would provide the same benefits to umpires as it does to athletes and others who seek protection for the brain in contact situations. $200 is a lot of money...

     Anybody using one of these? Thoughts in general?

~Dawg  

Before putting down that much dough on something, I'd want to read independent research (i.e. not done by the manufacturer).

[JaxRolo]

A lot of football players wearing these... We will see what happens.

[BlueRanger]

This is either gonna be a really cool innovation or the next ridiculous thing NFHS starts wheezing about to us lol

[BT_Blue]

On 1/28/2023 at 1:33 AM, BlueRanger said:

This is either gonna be a really cool innovation or the next ridiculous thing NFHS starts wheezing about to us lol

TRUTH!

[MadMax]

We seem to keep forgetting that Football, and its collisions (plural) and propensity for a player’s head to impact the ground, are decidedly different than those impacts we encounter in Baseball. 

Provided an umpire is wearing an intact mask – whether it be a TM or HSM – an impacting baseball will never directly cause a concussion. Its impact – or, more appropriately, our reaction to the impact – induces a concussion (potentially). The concussion is a result of a whiplash effect, with our head jerking back in sudden reaction to the impact, and our brain 🧠  – because it is encased in a fluid – sloshing around and impacting the inner wall of our own skull 💀. Simple physics, alá Sir Isaac Newton. 

For this very reason, all the companies in the industry – such as All-Star, as best example – cannot and do not test their equipment to “prevent concussions”. They. Simply. Can. Not. 

Why’s that? Because each person’s anatomy and – most importantly – their reactive behavior is uniquely different to the individual, and even to the individual event. All they can justifiably test for is a measurable standard, that of “fracturing force”. That would be a force so great that it would fracture skull structure, which could / would incur vital damage to the brain and cranial tissues. 

So with all that said, how do we mitigate and give ourselves the best chance to not experience a concussion (I cannot say “prevent”)? I’m 47 now, and have an extensive history of intense participation in a variety of action sports, team sports, operating of vehicles, and manual labor. Within that, and relevant to our discussion here, I was a catcher for 16 years, a football player for 5 years, a soccer player (goalie, too) for 23 years, and a hockey goalie for a few years. And, 13 years of being an umpire with many of those years doing 120+ Plate games per year. I’ve had three concussions in my life – 1) baseball, took a bat to the side of my head, knocked me out for a few minutes, 2) football, while wearing just my helmet (loose) for practice, I extended for a pass over my head, and landed on my back and whiplashed my head against the AstroTurf, 3) biking, without a helmet, and hit the back of a parked car while on a late night commute to the library, knocked out and came to being guided into a nearby hospital. 

Otherwise, hundreds of baseball impacts, hundreds of soccer ball impacts, and dozens of hockey puck impacts (hey! At least I stopped ‘em!) and not one single concussion from them. Why’s that? Because I conditioned and prepared myself to expect them (the impacts), and conditioned myself on how (best) to react – or, how not to react – to them. 

So, I’m going to modify a phrase... you might recognize it. A ____________ of experienced preparedness is worth much more than $200 worth of so-called protection. 

That collar doesn’t prevent concussions. It (hopefully) mitigates the results should one occur. And I’d much rather make efforts, with myself first, and then training others, to reduce the reaction that causes a concussion to occur. 

Ever observe a Plate Umpire get surprised or spooked by a pitch? Sure we have. I’d hate to see what would have happened had that same pitch either been fouled off and hit him, or hit him directly.