Some players who took to the field at the Women’s World Cup that has just started wear a horseshoe collar: it has a specific function.
In Australia and New Zealand i Women’s Soccer World Cup who also see Milena Bertolini’s national team at the start. In the first games played was the appearance of a collar worn by some female soccer players. A special object, open at the front, never seen before. Many have wondered what this collar is for, and the answer has to be found in fears that a technical gesture could endanger players’ health.
Just a few days before the start of the tournament A study has reignited controversy about the dangers of hitting the ball with your head. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at the cognitive impairment of more than 450 former professional football players in the UK and how often they headed during their career. The researchers found that “the risk of cognitive impairment increases with cumulative headbutt frequency,” confirming other previous studies that spoke of it brain injuries related to this gesture.
The JAMA study only targeted male athletes, but previous research has shown this Female soccer players suffer significantly more concussions and other brain injuries than males. The reason for this higher risk in women isn’t clear: some theories suggest that the causes could be a less muscular neck, a brain with a faster metabolism, and different hormones depending on the phase of their menstrual cycle. So there is no doubt that female soccer players are at a higher risk of injuries that can later manifest as dementia praecox. But that doesn’t mean they give up headers, especially in a career-worthy job like the World Cup.
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Collared Rebecca Quinn in Canada’s opening match against Nigeria at the World Cup
So someone thought about working on a device that would protect male and female footballers: that’s the job the Q-Collar, a horseshoe-shaped piece of silicone designed to protect the brain from the inside rather than with helmets or other items placed on the outside of the head. The device was invented by dr DavidSmithwho explained how it works: The Q-Collar provides “a slight compression against the jugular veins that results in very little filling of the cranial space.” The idea – Smith added – is that The accumulation of blood in the skull acts as a buffer, preventing excessive brain movement that can lead to injury.
The Q-collar was worn by the Canadian Rebecca Catherine Quinn in the opening match of the tournament against Nigeria. Also the star of Costa Rica Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez Wear one of these collars regularly in the field. In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Q-Collar for sale as a medical device, with the FDA also announcing that studies on the collar “appear to indicate brain protection associated with use of the device.” A conclusion not everyone in the scientific community agrees with, but in any case “no significant adverse events are associated with the use of the device.” So by wearing it you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.