April 2021 - 7

game atmosphere is also something that's very difficult to
reproduce in a practice setting. "
Football still remained the sport with the highest
concussion rate, 10.4 per 10,000 athletic exposures,
followed by girls' soccer (8.19), and boys' ice hockey (7.69).
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a forceful
bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or from an object
that pierces the skull and enters the brain. Not all blows or
jolts to the head result in a TBI. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, from 2006 to 2014,
the number of TBI-related emergency department visits,
hospitalizations, and deaths increased by 53%. Blunt
trauma accidents, or accidents that involve being struck by
or against an object, particularly sports-related injuries, are
a major cause of TBI. The National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke notes that anywhere from 1.6 million
to 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related TBIs are
estimated to occur in the United States annually.
As more and more information becomes available to
the public, there are those continuing to push the limits in
player-safety technology. Meet the Q-Collar - an externally
worn device that aids in the protection of the brain from
the effects associated with repetitive sub-concussive head
impacts.
Their premise is rather simple. Upon impact, the brain
moves and hits against the skull, causing brain injuries.
This is sometimes referred to as a " slosh. " If you reduce
the movement of the brain you can reduce the likelihood
of sub-concussive hits to the head. Despite its name, the
Q-Collar is shaped in a C-form and fits around the back
of your neck in a non-evasive way. The collar applies
light pressure to the jugular vein, which causes a slight
increase in blood volume inside the skull - about two
teaspoons worth. This increase in blood volume pads
the brain and shrinks the space between the skull, thus,
reducing the risk of brain injury.
In its lifespan, the Q-Collar has undergone eight
years of research, including seven pre-clinical studies,
five tolerability studies, 16 clinical studies, and have
examined more than 1000 participants and more than
500,000 impacts over 20 G's. And the results have been
clear - Q-Collar shows no negative impacts on athletic
performance.
But perhaps the most important study has come from
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February 2021.
It was then when the FDA authorized marketing of the
new device, intended to be worn by athletes aged 13 years
and older.
" [This] is an additional piece of protective equipment
athletes can wear when playing sports to help protect
their brains from the effects of repetitive head impacts
while still wearing the personal protective equipment
associated with the sport, " said Christopher M. Loftus,
M.D., acting director of the Office of Neurological and
Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA's Center for
Devices and Radiological Health.
To get the approval of the FDA, the Q-Collar had
to pass rigorous safety and effectiveness measures,
including a prospective, longitudinal study in the U.S.
with 284 subjects 13 years or older who were part of
a high school football team. Throughout the season
139 athletes were the Q-Collar and 145 did not while
everyone wore an accelerometer device that measured
impact to the head sustained during play. Additionally,
each participant took part in an MRI scan pre- and
post-season. The results showed significant changes in
deeper tissues of the brain involved in the transmission
of electrical nerve signals in 106 of the 145 (73%) noncollar
participants, while no significant changes in 107 of
the 139 (77%) collar-wearing participants.
Though not a cure-all by any means - the FDA states
the Q-Collar does not replace typical protective sports
equipment - the differences from the study indicated a
protection of the brain when worn by athletes. It should
be noted, however, that the device has not been tested
on athletes with the following pre-existing conditions:
increased pressure in the skull; open head injury within
the last six months; pseudotumor cerebri, known
seizure disorder, known trachea abnormality or airway
obstructions, blood clots in the brain, and excessive
alkalinity in the blood.
The device can be worn for up to four hours at a time
and has a shelf life of roughly two years. The Q-Collar has
already gained notoriety in the Canadian Football League
as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill
and Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Trevor Harris have
both worth the device during the season.
" These are the small things we can do that science is
backing that's helping with head trauma in athletes. And
if we can save the game small bits at a time. I want to
support that, " Harris said during a media session with the
Eskimo. n
training-conditioning.com | 7
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April 2021

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