Leatt brace braking ribs

[umka]

I don’t know if it is the braces fault but I can’t think of what else it could be and the area is correct but I have had two minor offs and have broken ribs both times and that is the first time I have broken ribs ever. Was wearing full hard fox body armour too.

Anyone else having this problem with the leatt?

[tnarg]

Not sure if a leatt problem. I had a minor off 5weeks ago and broke 2 ribs and I dont wear one. Doesn't take much, all it takes is you to fall the wrong way. Would be interesting to here if anyone else having same problem, as I was looking at getting one soon and not to keen on breaking more ribs.

[noobi]

How are you landing thats making you break ribs?
If its on your head that would make sense as thats where it pushs, into the solar plexus area, and better than breaking your neck

[noobi]

Heres a storey about the leatt breaking ribs



. These things are great. I truly believe that mine saved me in a very big way. On August 8th I was out at VDR and it was a little windy that day and I got hit with a gust of wind going over the table after the double double section and came down sideways. I went over the bars head 1st into the ground. It forced my head back and into my leatt. Then I tumbled from there. Thank god I had on that neck brace or the outcome could have been much worse. I got up and had some help from some other people at the track to get loaded up. I thought that I could just shake it off and drive home so I started that way. On the way to home I decided that I needed to go to the hospital so I just kept driving to the ER. When I got there they found 6 broken ribs, punctured lung / partially deflated, fluid in my chest, torn liver, and bruised kidneys. I spent 4 days in the hospital and then another 5 at home. My ribs are broken right at my back I think that my neck brace might have had someting to do with this. They are broken right at the base of the back plate. The pain from them is not to bad only when I lay down, twist, and bend. My liver is doing well and my kidneys are doing better as well. I only have to deal with time now. They say 6-8 weeks until I can resume full activity. The pain gets better day by day and I’ll be back on the bike before no time.

I can't imagine what would have happend to me if I did not have that brace on. If it had so much force to break ribs I would hate to see what that crash would have done to my unprotected neck.

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=686089

[umka]

They are very minor offs. I would think i would have a sore neck but dont so i guess the leatt is doing its job but these broken ribs hurt like hell.

the problem is in the front part of the rib cage where the front part of the brace sits.

[Quasievil]

Most of the armour you guys wear on MX bikes is for stone protection, it will offer you about as much impact protection as a chees sandwich actually.

We will be bring in proper MX protection next year from KNOX, this will prevent rib damage etc.

for now we have the KNOX chest protector, I wear it on the motard and its very light and very free feeling.

Keep an eye out for the new stuff

[dafydd roberts]

Most of the armour you guys wear on MX bikes is for stone protection, it will offer you about as much impact protection as a chees sandwich actually.

We will be bring in proper MX protection next year from KNOX, this will prevent rib damage etc.

for now we have the KNOX chest protector, I wear it on the motard and its very light and very free feeling.

Keep an eye out for the new stuff

I got a load of the stuff from the UK dam good stuff, I find it too hot for over here though, even if you just use the chest and back armour its can still be too much, better than the current pressure suits though.

[soundbeltfarm]

i've fallen off a heap of times while wearing my leatt and have no injuries from it.
i had a sore shoulder two weeks ago from a crash but pretty sure that was from impact and not the leatt.
both my kids have leatts as well and have suffered no collar bone or rib injuries.
the only thing i can think of is that the leatt stops your neck from bending over further than without it and then acts as a pivot forcing your ribs to compress over more.
but i would never ride without mine now and my kids are not allowed to either.
i really do think it has helped me a few times but its one of those things where you can never be sure.

[scott411]

thier is come research to say leatt's cause lower back injuries and rib injuries, but since neck braces are in their infancy there are bound to be these theory's,

Leatts are also hard on shoulders adn collerbones,

Quasi is right most MX protectors are made for roost protection only, howver i would rather have one one when sliding down the clay than not, thier have been some advances in this lately with pressure suits, RXR inflatoable armour, and other products, but they all restrict airflow and there fore are a lot hotter to wear,

[Storm]

On the whole though, what'd you rather have? Sore ribs or a broken neck?
As has been said, they are in thier infancy and will get better as time goes on

[scott411]

On the whole though, what'd you rather have? Sore ribs or a broken neck?
As has been said, they are in thier infancy and will get better as time goes on

who says he would have broken his neck, i know some riders have gone away form leatts because of broken collar bones,

[umka]

I cant emagine i would have broken my neck as these were really low speed, like i can run this fast.

It may have been that the ribs were not properly fixed.

Scott whats the news about broken collar bones. i thought the leatt was suppossed to help that. do you think the astar or evs is better?

[secondfield]

Good question umka..

Broken collarbones are fairly common in our sport and can take awhile to mend. After breaking mine in a relatively minor crash im looking for ways to protect it a bit more. The EVS looks like it will cover the sensitive spot where you collarbone juts out toward the neck. If the neck brace would offer a bit of protection that would be a huge bonus as well as to keep your neck safe.

Apparently your collarbone is the easiest bone to break in your body. It hurts a fair bit and sleeping with one is a real pain in the ass.

[zx7rrjase]

My son and I wear Leatts and while since they have been on the market there have been rumours saying that they can cause injuries id never race with-out it.
A lot of research went into the Leatt by some very clever people and while sure some injuries might have been caused by the Leatt i reckon a lot of people have been saved from big injuries because of the Leatt.

[scott411]

i am not as bigger believer in the leatt, however i think it is well designed for the intended purpose, the leatt was funded mostly by BMW and KTM for Desert racing, (paris dakar etc) and for high speed crashes they are awesome, however not many nz trail rides cross country's or mx's have average speeds over 120kph, i am not saying the leatt is bad, it is very well designed,

the Alpinestars brace tries to make the difference between that and making it more mx friendly, but i think it is priced out of range for most, and also in alpinestars sales data they say if you are wearing a cheaper helmet there is no point wearing their brace, all thier advertising shows people wearing arai's,

the EVS is a good comprimise for what we do here, it is much better priced, it is much lighter than the leatt which is a big things for kids, and i also think that the soft neck collar is a great thing as it decreases speed of impact like a helmet does with its lining, which is much easier on collar bones etc, as said above the collar bone is the most broken bone in MX, and we do nothing to protect it, most of the time it is your helmet that breaks your collar bone,

the thing i tell people is that no neck brace is a magic bullet, you can break your neck in any of them, it is like no helmet will stop all concussions and no knee brace will stop all knee injuries,

as for me, i choose not to wear one at the moment, my personal choice, i think after the David Bailey leatt video hit the net a lot of people brought leatts on emotion, one of the biggest problem with all neck braces is there is no testing procudure or testing standards, and very little outside data on each of them. Leatt, Alpinestars and EVS all provide info on there own, but there is almost no outside testing provided,

in the end i try when i sell these braces i try to give people informed decisions, i sell all three braces,