Pro-Neck-Tor™

• Vancouver Trojans Midget Football Team
• Live action videos produced by Tabata Productions Ltd.

In football, players are often vigorously pursued and tackled by other players. Due to the aggressive nature of the game, players sometimes experience head-first impacts with other athletes (like the one above) or with the ground. Depending on a number of conditions associated with head-first impact, these impacts can sometimes fracture and/or dislocate vertebrae in the neck and cause spinal cord injuries with permanent paralysis. The new Pro-Neck-Tor™ helmet technology under development at the Injury Biomechanics Laboratory of The University of British Columbia is being designed with the prevention of these injuries in mind. We invite you to find out more about Pro-Neck-Tor™ and how it comes into play in events like these by clicking here.

Today's helmets are extremely effective at protecting their wearers against head injuries in a collision. However, their design does not protect the wearer against neck and spinal cord injury in a head-first impact. Estimating the number of cervical spine injuries from head-first impacts while wearing a helmet in sports is not straightforward. However, because they are so debilitating and there is no cure for consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI), prevention is of utmost importance, especially if prevention can be offered through a helmet that is the same size and configuration as a common helmet.

The Pro-Neck-Tor™ helmet technology (shown left) under development at Injury Biomechanics Laboratory of The University of British Columbia is being designed to provide the additional level of protection that no state-of-the-art helmet so far has been able to offer – protection for the head and neck during head-first impacts. The technology is not yet available commercially but thus far research and development testing has shown promising results.

Enter this site to learn more about Pro-Neck-Tor™, its underlying technology, and what the scientific, and sporting communities have to say about it and its potential to prevent debilitating injuries in sporting activities.

* Pro-Neck-Tor™ is a trademark owned by The University of British Columbia.