For the past two decades, Dr. Patrick Kerr has dedicated himself to treating necks, specifically how the head aligns to the first bone in the neck (known as the atlas). He’s utilized a procedure called Atlas Orthogonal during this practice, which is a specialty in Chiropractic. It’s worth noting, there’s an instrument that allows him to adjust the atlas into its proper alignment at a very critical area in the spine, where the head joins the spine.
Through these years, though, Dr. Kerr informs SportTechie that he’s learned that the misalignment of the head on the atlas can give a person an array of different symptoms.
Anything from headaches, neck pain, shoulder problems, lower back issues, and fogginess, among other ailments, can be derived. The problem with the head and neck is, together as a unit, that they’re quite susceptible to injury, especially during collision.
Of note, the cervical spine doesn’t compress downward toward the body; that’s called “Axial Loading” upon collision.
In football, the individual is asking the head and neck to do something it’s not designed to do. By and large, virtually every single hit drives the head into the body.
Nevertheless, Dr. Kerr used to play Pop Warner, high school, and college football while growing up. One time, he went insofar as creating a makeshift device by taping down a soft Adams Roll, positioning it directly under the helmet. Once he became a specialist in treating the cervical spine, he’s now leveraging his acquired knowledge of the spine and playing linebacker to apply it in the construction of the Kerr Collar product, as the Founder of Kerr Sports.
Still, there’s a plethora of reasons as to why the neck region has not really been addressed in football.
“Number one, I think is the reality that every player is different in size, when it comes to the neck. Some are long, short, thick, or thin, so it’s hard to fit,” says Dr. Kerr.
“Number two is that that it is very difficult to add protection to a body part that requires tremendous movement to play the game.”
“Sadly, the third reason is liability–companies do not want to ‘risk’ being sued in case of injury,” continued Dr. Kerr.
The greater risk, however, pertains to the option of not providing protection to this crucial area of the body. Collectively, there needs to be a way in which it’s done to educate players and their parents. Every party involved should understand that no one device can protect a player completely.
The goal of the Kerr Collar, thus, is to try to absorb as much of the impact energy as possible, while being cognizant that the remaining forces can still cause injury.
Beyond the scientific sophistication, the biggest barrier to date to devise a product designed for the neck is purely financial.
“Number one, the cost of research and development, along with the prototype design and manufacturing, were extremely expensive. The Kerr Collar was tested at the Virginia Tech Center for Injury Biomechanics–not once, but twice. Ultimately, we are very happy with the completed dimensions and material,” Dr. Kerr states.
A series of 48 tests were conducted at Virginia Tech. Given their prior research with football helmets, the school’s resources were sufficed for this range of study. Dr. Kerr has previously met with Dr. Stefan Duma, Virginia Tech’s leading sports concussion expert, 10 years prior, where he broached the idea to transfer forces away from the head and neck during collision. Dr. Kerr’s research is some of the more expansive neck testing ever done in football.
This video by Dr. Kerr shows what happens to the neck upon forces applied to it:
The Virginia Tech study evaluated the dynamic biomechanical effects of neck collars that are presently used in contact football. Each neck collar (three of them: Cowboy, Bullock, and Kerr) was tested at two different impact speeds, at three different impact locations, and two different shoulder pad positions. While each of these collars were produced by their own manufacturer and composed of different materials, it was at the top impact location that showed the Kerr and Bullock Collar reduced head accelerations and force transmissions via the neck; the former demonstrated greater reductions in force transmissions. For the front impact spot, all of the collars defused lower neck movement; the Kerr Collar did that as well as upper neck movement. And in the side impact location, the Kerr Collar proved to diminish lower neck movement the best.
The key findings of the Kerr Collar from this Virginia Tech examination are as follows: reduces force transmissions to the neck by an average of 58 percent, lessens head and neck movement during collision by an average of 38 percent, trims shearing of the head on the neck, abates excessive rotation of the head, diminishes axial loading, debases hypertension of the head and neck, and pares lateral bending of the neck.
Dr. Kerr mentions that previous neck research hasn’t had any real testing coupled with it–separating the Kerr Collar’s examination from other products and making it more noteworthy.
“From what I can find regarding tests for the Cowboy Collar, it’s active and passive range of motion studies done using a camera. No real data on the Cowboy Collar was out there until I tested the Kerr Collar against it in 2006,” states Dr. Kerr.
“That testing confirmed that we should not have extension restrictors (devices behind the head) trying to protect the football player. It does not make any biomechanical sense,” Dr. Kerr added.
The Kerr Collar is the first step in making systems for football players. Just offering silo products that are not interconnected won’t be enough for safety purposes. In the future, Dr. Kerr believes there will be helmets and shoulder pads that work together during collision in order to absorb and disperse forces away from the head and neck.
Currently, the Kerr Collar takes a standard issued pair of shoulder pads and turns these pads into a system that works with the helmet. Dr. Kerr is optimistic that companies like Riddell and Schutt will start making shoulder pads that interact with the helmet.
Dr. Kerr expounds further: “In order for football to survive, this has to happen. The science of collision is increasing; and kids are also getting bigger and faster. Parents will demand it.”
Football players need to understand that it’s vital to keep their “heads up” when tackling. The purpose why “heads up” tackling is taught by coaches, is because the force from impact transfers to the neck. As collision happens, the force gets transmitted from the helmet, to the skull, and to the neck. The neck reacts during collision to distribute forces generated from impact. The neck is not designed to handle contact that affects the top of the head.
The Kerr Collar, based on the Virginia Tech study, does protect the head and neck regions upon collision. Such a product serves as an advancement towards comprehending and preventing brain and spinal cord injuries. This specific area alone, and in conjunction with current concussion studies that are head-based, should be addressed even more by the NFL and each football governing body.
“They say that football is a ‘game of inches’. Protecting the human body in football is a game of millimeters,” exclaims Dr. Kerr.