A Neck Brace Should be Worn by Every
Rider in Motocross, Off-Road or FMX

If you don't currently ride with a neck brace, now might be a good time to get one as a serious neck injury can easily end a racing career or worse in an instant. Just remember, if you suffer a serious neck injury that results in spinal cord damage (AKA SCI) you're pretty much likely to be done riding competitively, Or, should you become paralyzed as a paraplegic or quadriplegic, any of the normal activities you may take for granted now from walking or running to cycling or swimming among other activities that many athletes participate in for training purposes will likely become unachievable as there is currently no cure for SCI. Additionally, If the neck injury is severe enough, this can even result in death. So... for the reasons listed here alone, a majority of riders won't ride without their neck braces.

Shop the Neck Braces on MotoSport

The idea of a neck brace is to limit the movement of a riders head in the event of a crash effectively limiting the extension or flexion in the neck, while at the same time redirecting the load placed on a riders neck and dissipating the force over a much broader area, to other less critical parts of the riders body whether it’s onto the chest, shoulders, or down the back and this is accomplished by the brace working in unison with a riders helmet in an attempt to prevent injury by providing an alternative load path by working to reduce the force placed on the riders neck.

After witnessing too many catastrophic neck injuries, (including one with a fatality at an off-road enduro which Dr. Leatt was attending), Dr. Chris Leatt, (whom is an avid off-road motorcyclist and enthusiast, as well as the father of a son whom rides motocross) gave up medicine, and even though Dr. Leatt was halfway through specializing in neurosurgery, he gave up his teaching post to set out and design a better system than that of the available "neck donuts" and foam collars that some riders were using, as he felt there was a need to better protect a rider from neck and spinal cord injuries.

It was later, several years after extensive testing and development began that Dr. Leatt introduced a high quality neck brace which was to be later known as and is still referred to as the "Leatt Brace" which has in itself started a revolution that has now expanded into other manufacturers such as Alpinestars and EVS developing their own versions of this important piece of safety equipment, as well as neck braces becoming more and more fashionable and widely accepted among a large majority of both professional and amateur or recreational riders in motocross, off-road disciplines and FMX.

Before the introduction of the Leatt Brace, a lot of people used "Neck Donuts" as these were generally considered the best thing for any type of neck protection although times and technology have advanced significantly whereas the conventional "Neck Donut" or foam collar is no longer considered an adequate means of neck protection.

The reason that neck donuts don't provide an adequate level of protection is because they are generally constructed from a soft material which usually just compresses upon impact resulting in almost no limit to the range of movement, essentially deeming them ineffective. Furthermore, during Dr. Leatt's testing and during the development of the Leatt Brace, Dr. Leatt observed that by using a soft neck donut, in the event of a crash, a rider could be more susceptible to suffer a serious injury due to the way that the neck donut increases the bending movement of the riders neck by the donut acting as a fulcrum causing the neck to bend around the collar.

Nowadays you'll find many of the top pro's, as well as amateurs and recreational riders alike wearing one of the much more supportive and protective neck braces that are now available and becoming increasingly more affordable, not to mention their growing status as a fashion statement.