Accidents and Injuries  »   Does Leatt-Brace™ cause back injuries?

Q:  Does Leatt-Brace™ cause back injuries?

A:  When looking at the Leatt-Brace™, it must be appreciated that the thoracic member and strut are only there to prevent the upper platform of the Moto GPX from rotating when the helmet strike forces are present and to prevent the brace from rotating around the thorax.  The carbon fiber strut is engineered with specific tolerances to fail well before causing serious harm to the thoracic spine in helmet impact events.  In very particular circumstances, lower back forces – thoracolumbojunction – may be increased when a rider using the Leatt-Brace™ falls from a height ( for instance, one meter) directly onto the head with a straight spine and when the head is not allowed to slide out of the way.  The lab test for this fact pattern indicates that forces applied to the spine may be the focus at the lower level of cervical spine in this particular circumstance, but we believe that this set of events is unlikely to occur in real life accident scenarios.  If the rider doesn’t hit an obstacle perpendicular to another obstacle; or the head slides on impact in relation to the obstacle; and head or back is bent at the time of the accident; this increase in back force cannot be reduced by our brace.

jjolly1609:My son was racing an arenacross in January, it was an AMA Amateur race and thier tracks are a little different than the arenacross tracks we normally go to as they have about 3 feet of concrete all the way around the track for the workers. He was going thru the whoop section and went over the bars, landing head first on the concrete, and then slamming into the wall. When I look back at the video it looks like he is diving into a pool. He was screaming in pain when I got to him, his back, his neck, Mom my back is broke and I think my neck is broke. We get him in the ambulance and to the hospital, they take him to CT, MRI, XRay. The outcome, Compression fracture to T5, T6, T9 and bulging disc T7, T8 and C4, the Doctors were amazed at how well he was doing. The Neurosurgeon that we seen when we got home told us that the Leatt brace saved his life, if he had not been wearing it, his neck would have been broken and he possibly would not be walking today! It's been almost 3 months since his injury and his doctor released him this week!

Leatt Corporation thanks you for sharing the details of your son’s unfortunate crash with us and wishes him a speedy recovery. Leatt Corporation would also, if at all possible like an accident report and a copy of the injury records given by the medical specialist after the accident.

If you don’t object, please contact cornel@leatt-brace.com or Pieter@leatt-brace.com for a copy of our incident report.   

Motorcycle sports are inherently dangerous and no safety equipment can protect a rider from all possible injuries. Caution and prudence should be exercised, especially in avoding courses that are not designed with safety in mind.