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The neck collar device, called a Q-Collar, is designed to press gently on the jugular vein to slow blood outflow, increasing the brain’s blood volume during competitive play. The resulting effect is blood filling the brain vessel (like an airbag) to help the brain fit tighter within the skull cavity, reducing the energy absorbed by the brain during collisions. The study focused on cumulative sub-concussive impacts to the head that change the white matter structure of the brain. In soccer, that can come from a head ball to a collision with another player to a hard fall.
White matter is essentially structural pathways that connect all the information/signal processing centers of the brain that support normal function. Researcher studied 46 female high school soccer players. Twenty-four of them wore a Q-Collar. All 46 athletes underwent neuroimaging at up to three points in time over a six month period. This included the 3-month soccer season and 3-month post season rest period, with no exposure to head impacts. Head impacts were tracked using accelerometers — a computer chip — placed behind the left ear during practice and games.
Neuroimaging analysis revealed significant white-matter changes from pre- to post-season in those who didn’t wear the collar. No significant changes were found in those who did wear the collar, despite a similar number and magnitude of head impacts. Imaging conducted three months after the end of the soccer season showed that white matter changes in the non-collar group had either partially resolved or tracked back to normal.
The benefits of playing soccer in female athletes far outweigh the risks that is visible. Previous studies involving the Q-Collar looked at male hockey and football players and also showed significant protective effect from repetitive sub-concussive head impacts.