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Question for Reed

Hi @RAyers I wondered if you have heard of/have any comments on this. It was shared in a FB helmet group. Sorry the websitelooks to be what is sent out for marketing. I am interested in your thoughts. :slight_smile:

Here’s some of the comments: This is so interesting because every time the proper use of stock ties comes up in the fox hunting world, there’s always people who say that it helps prevent injury and then everybody comes back and says there’s no way a piece of cloth can prevent injury. But it looks like there may actually be the potential that it does

Data is regarding “repetitive subconcussive” incidents. We tend to skip the sub part, so having extra fluid might not be advantageous in a full out brain bounce against the skull.

Q30: Brain Protection, FDA-Cleared Q-Collar

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This looks interesting since my brain is compromised by MS plus several concussions.

I would particularly be interested to see if it could reduce the brain sloshing while doing the sitting trot. Right now I only dare to do 2-3 strides of the sitting trot because I am trying to protect my brain from further trauma, even minor trauma.

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@swmorse

Side note, thanks for being a member of our MIPS group.

Emily

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Well, I read and re-read everything on their site, measured my neck 6 times, and I ordered one for me today plus a sleeve for it.

If for some reason I cannot use it, I take lessons at a BIG stable (usually 38-40 horses) with both adult riders and children of all ages, so it does have a good home if I can’t use it.

I ordered it because I hope that when I wear it my body will stop screaming to me to NOT DO THE SITTING TROT!!! Since my body is only agreeable right now with me doing 2 strides of the sitting trot I can’t really “seduce” my lesson horse (ridden by others) to relax his back under my seat. Riding him at the sitting trot right now feels like I am riding a jack hammer on concrete and my body is screaming NO, NO, NO, a thousand times NO! My mind does NOT like my brain sloshing around in my skull riding this jack-hammer of a horse, and I have to ride his present jolting sitting trot some to convince the horse that it is really OK to relax his back somewhat (he is a 28 year old Appendix QH gelding, set in his ways.)

I’ve done this before on other horses, all who ended up relaxing their backs and giving me a rather pleasant slow trot for sitting, eventually. Since I ride this horse just 30 minutes a week it may take me a while, but if this collar works I can start this work which is necessary to bring out the super comfortable riding horse he is under those decades of bad riding.

Once he starts relaxing his back muscles some he should be able to start enjoying our work more.

I hope this works for me!

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Jackie, I hope it works for you; please let us know all about it

Be patient please. I doubt that it will get here by Wednesday for my lesson, I won’t get my weekend ride in on Sunday, so the earliest I can use it on horseback is over a week away.

I am also considering it for riding around in the car too. I find car travel extremely exhausting as my body constantly adapts to the motion of the car and the changes of speed. It would be SO WONDERFUL if I could get so I could ride in the car for many hours. The nearest riding school dedicated to Forward Seat riding is all the way up in the panhandle of Maryland and I live near the southern edge of North Carolina. Every year I think of going back, and the last few years my body essentially said “Are you kidding me? NO!”

I would LOVE to get another Forward Seat riding lesson. Karen had been putting me up on green lesson horses, I am ideal for these horses since I am weak and unbalanced but I do my aids properly and I can gently get the horses to obey me.

Yep, I have dreams, dreams that I thought were dead for sure.

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This is an interesting piece of equipment, and certainly sounds worth considering. Does anyone know what it feels like to wear? Is it noticeable - for instance, do you feel pressure in your neck or head?

Jackie, I am patience personified :slightly_smiling_face:

I hope it works for you :heart:

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Like I know what I am doing…

Front Neurol. 2016; 7: 74.

Published online 2016 Jun 6. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2016.00074

PMCID: PMC4893920

PMID: 27375546

The Effects of External Jugular Compression Applied during Head Impact Exposure on Longitudinal Changes in Brain Neuroanatomical and Neurophysiological Biomarkers: A Preliminary Investigation

" Conclusion

Group differences in the longitudinal changes in both neuroanatomical and electrophysiological measures, as well as the correlation between the measures, provide initial evidence indicating that mild jugular vein compression may have reduced alterations in the WM response to head impacts during a competitive hockey season. The data indicate sport-related alterations in WM microstructure were ameliorated by application of jugular compression during head impact exposure. These results may lead to a novel line of research inquiry to evaluate the effects of protecting the brain from sports-related head impacts via optimized intracranial fluid dynamics."

J Neurotrauma. 2018 Jun 1; 35(11): 1248–1259.

Published online 2018 Jun 1. doi: 10.1089/neu.2017.5262

PMCID: PMC6037185

PMID: 29334834

Mild Jugular Compression Collar Ameliorated Changes in Brain Activation of Working Memory after One Soccer Season in Female High School Athletes

“The collar group demonstrated significantly smaller pre- to post-season change in fMRI BOLD signal than the non-collar group, suggesting a potential protective effect from the collar device. Significant correlations were also found between the pre- to post-season increase in fMRI brain activation and the decrease in task accuracy in the non-collar group, indicating an association between the compensatory mechanism in underlying neurophysiology and the alteration in the behavioral outcomes.”

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And, yes, I heard about this from one of my colleagues in the OR. And, yes, I have one.

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Thanks for the reply. Interesting info. I hope it helps Jackie

Thank you RAyers for your report. It helps settle my mind because I went ahead and ordered one earlier this week (and it is on its way!)

One thing I am worried about with the sitting trot is the effect on the brain stem. I do not know if the Q30 collar will help with this but I live in hope. I do know that if my brain is NOT pleased with the effects that my brain will start “screaming” no, no, NO! If that happens I will donate it to my lesson stable. My riding teacher will also be reassured by RAyers’ report.

It is almost in the “too good to be true” category in my mind, but reading all the stuff on the Q30 site was just too interesting. If it works for me it will greatly extend what I can do riding the horses, especially with the sitting trot, and it sounds like it will help me if I fall off almost as much as my precious MIPS riding helmet.

Thank you again RAyers, I appreciate your input.

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My dad’s company developed this, I’ve been watching the progress for years and have been waiting on it to be available in the USA. They’ve had great results in many impact sports, and I’ve mentioned multiple times they need to market to equestrians. Alas, he’s not in marketing.

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Wow the things you find out on here :slightly_smiling_face::clap:

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I am SO DISAPPOINTED.

My Q collar came. I was so happy.

I had measured my neck 6 times, obviously I did not do it correctly though I followed the directions to the letter.

My just arrived Q collar is too small and I had to leave a message on their phone.

Hopefully this will get resolved quickly, but unless there is a miracle it will not be resolved by my lesson on Wednesday.

Or maybe my neck will shrink by Wednesday morning.

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Shoot

@Jackie_Cochran how much are you going up on size? I’m going to order one and will double check my measurements.

My husband and I both do cancer drug development/research and it’s fascinating how they worked with FDA to get it approved. Data is very impressive.

Here’s the FDA press release if there are any other regulatory geeks out there. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-novel-device-help-protect-athletes-brains-during-head-impacts

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This blood flow restricting collar is interesting. I can’t claim to fully understand its side effects. Probably others more knowledgeable, such as @RAyers, can remove my ignorance. Everyone, correct me when I go wrong here!

As I understand it, the device works by restricting blood flow to thus build up a larger amount of blood in the brain. This serves to prevent brain “sloshing” upon an impact to the skull. This then prevents micro-damage to the brain structures.

It also seems inevitable that internal brain blood pressure is increased as a result of the restricted flow in the veins. There are studies (2003, British Journal of Ophthalmology) which show restrictions around the neck (such as tight neck ties) produce increases in intraocular pressure which isn’t good for eye health and other risk factors.

It also seems that brain cooling, via blood flow, would be inhibited somewhat by the restrictions. It’s well known that this cooling is required for proper brain function, mental acuity, and cellular health.

I am assuming that the user will wear the device all the time, or at least all the time they wear a riding helmet. They may likely have it on when the helmet is off. It could be worn for hours during a day. So, the usage model is not sporadic or intermittent use, or only when competing. The trials / studies were not of long term use. They had subjects wear them during their sport competition and then remove them. And a few subjects stopped wearing them. No one wore them most of the day. The research study, which was quoted, mentions that more work is required to understand the long term use for sport with increased brain blood volume. The animal studies (rats and pigs) are unclear how long they wore the devices.

There are some constraints and recommendations (fitment, other medical conditions, etc) which users will want to consider. It’s like one doesn’t want a loosely fitting helmet and expect that it will actually help in a fall.

Note that I am not against this novel device at all. To the contrary, I think it’s quite fascinating. I’m just looking to become more educated on the subtle aspects of how it works.

Have a great ride everyone!

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And all of your concerns are addressed in the FDA required contraindications.

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UPDATE!

My collar fit perfectly this morning. I used their little handy guide piece to check and the end of the collar was solidly in the middle of the green instead of having nearly an inch off to the side.

Would you believe that the circumference of my neck increases by an inch or more during the hot day laying around in my bed? Last night putting it on I felt like I was being strangled, this morning it was nice and tight and I did not feel like I was being strangled.

I should be good to go for my lesson tomorrow morning!

I got to talk with Robin Glozer at the Q30 company. I asked her if I should think of buying another one that is bigger in case I would need it in the afternoon. She said to use it for a while, keep on checking the fit and to keep on measuring my neck to see if it swells up after I use it for my horseback riding. The collar has some leeway, and she said if it was in the middle of the green on their piece to check the fit that I should be good to go with the one I have now.

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