Athletes who wear a specialized neck collar during high-contact sports may be more protected from sustaining concussions, according to a study published in British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Here are five things to know:
1. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center observed the effect a Q30 Innovations specialized neck Q-Collar had on high school female soccer players. The neck collar is designed to promote cerebral engorgement and reduce intracranial energy absorption.
2. The study comprised 50 female soccer players, ages 14 to 18, from two local teams. Of the athletes, 23 were assigned to the non-collar group and 27 were assigned to the collar group.
3. Participants underwent up to three MRI scans at three time points over a 10-month period to analyze diffusion tensor imaging changes from pre-season, post-season and off-season follow up.
4. The group who did not wear the collars had significant pre-season to post-season decreases in mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity in extensive white matter areas of the brain.
5. The females in the collar group did not show similar white matter changes, and researchers said the collar appears to have helped preserve white matter integrity when the athletes were exposed to head impacts.
Researchers concluded that while the neck collar device appears to have helped prevent further white matter changes in the group of females who wore it, further clinical trials and replication studies should be conducted to determine whether there are benefits from jugular compression to prevent concussions.