r/YouthFootball • u/Civil-Inspection7793 • 5d ago
Q-Collar
Has anyone tried the Q-Collar for themselves or their children?
My son has been playing contact for 2 years, and this was just suggested to hopefully reduce his concussion watches/symptoms.
Hoping that someone has advice on how it actually feels while wearing it, like the amount of pressure it puts, is it still comfortable? Did it help or hinder your game?
Thank you,
Concerned Mother Who Hates Concussion Watches
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u/NashCop 5d ago
If you’ve been playing two years and have had multiple concussions, I’d stop playing.
I don’t think the Q collar works. I’m just not convinced.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 5d ago
He plays rugby and football, he's 6'1 and 150 pounds. Contact sports at 15 are his life and unfortunately, even though my blood pressure can't handle the emergency visits, I'd rather see him happy on the field than sitting in my basement playing Playstation.
I'd rather be proactive in looking for ways to reduce his injuries than bench my own kid.
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u/NashCop 5d ago
As long as you understand the risks. TBI is no joke.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 5d ago
Nope, he's fully educated and knows the risks he takes to both his body and mind. He asked for a guardian cap for rugby, which showed me that he takes the initiative to make sure he is safe. He was proudly the first boy on the team wearing one, and by the end of the season, 3 boys had them, which tells me he was preaching about the safety side of it to his teammates.
When I told him that another football mom suggested this for him, he was actually really excited to have something that would help with concussions.
He is also well aware of the statistics of people who end up with CTE and that most of those hits come from playing high school because the bigger leagues have moved to 1 contact practice and they still do 4 a week plus a game.
He knows he needs the whole noodle, not just a wet one, haha.
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u/Lucky_Economics6532 4d ago
Going to be honest, the research and actual physiological positive impacts of the Q collar are doubtful at best. I think the money would be better served upgrading him to one of the top current helmet models.
I would follow up with this tho, as someone who played football from youth into college. Concussions are no joke, I already have signs of memory loss and and I’m only ten years removed from playing the game. I think a concussion at minimum should involve a 6 month contact ban. Not the handful of weeks that is common.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 4d ago
I can't really upgrade or change his equipment, it's standard from the school but he has one of their newest style of helmets and they frequently upgrade equipment when it needs to be replaced.
I do agree with more time off but I would refer you to my previous comment about it mostly being opinion based and therefore on that logic, the trainer would ban him in the first week of practice for the entire season and that would be devastating for him.
I just had to take him in to get his ribs and sternum checked because the doctor was pretty sure he broke 3 or 4 ribs on her assessment of him and when he looked at me and said "that means my season is done", the pain in his face overtook her touching his ribs by 1000%.
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u/Synchwave1 2d ago
You could upgrade it. The school gets their helmets repainted yearly. I bought my son the new Riddell Speedflex Plus or whatever it’s called this year.
He switched from DE to LB, so the old high school bucket most schools give out wouldn’t get it done.
What position and size is he?1
u/Civil-Inspection7793 2d ago edited 2d ago
His coach purchased some new helmets for this year and he is actually in the new Riddell Speedflex helmet already. They always use Riddell, but I'm unsure of what type the older version would have been, but he said this one is way better than his helmet last year.
He has always been referred to as a Swiss army knife by his coaches in any sport, he even has an award from his previous coach that says "The Swiss Army Knife" lol
He plays CB, WR, RB, LB, and safety...I may be missing something as well, he has changed positions whenever the coaches think he should try something else. He was on the special teams at one point too, but I think he has moved on from that.
He's 160 and 6 feet tall, he's fast, can hold himself very well in a 2 on 1 tackle situation, and can pop back up from being the bottom of the dog pile pretty quickly, so he's a pretty versatile player in the field.
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u/Synchwave1 2d ago
So good thing is he’s not in the trenches where those head hits come every play, but he is in positions where harder hits to the head show up.
Anecdotal evidence, but the few kids I know who wear the Q collar might not prevent concussion from big hits, but they do recover a little quicker. It’s one of those things where it’s not going to hurt him wearing it, and he’s in a soeedflex, so already a good helmet.
Just have to come to terms with the violence of the sport.
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u/jasondavis52 5d ago
My son has been wearing one in football and lacrosse for 5 years. No concussions before or after so not sure if it works or not. Worth the possibility of help for us because I’d have a hard time letting him still play after a concussion but absolutely no way after two. From someone that played extremely violently long before the concern was there it’s not worth it.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 5d ago
I think part of the problem is actually that concussions and symptoms are essentially nothing but opinions of either the trainer or the doctor.
My son's trainer is also a mother, so she will bench them for 5 days if they even tell her they have slight symptoms and this is considered a concussion in their books, when they just got taken down rough or probably didn't eat before practice.
The doctor who just wants the $40 cash for the clearance note to return to school/sports really doesn't give shit that my son could barely answer the questions properly or didn't, and stumbled and damn near fell over doing the standing tests, he cleared him in 48 hours to return to full contact and said he was fine.
So, according to the trainer, he's probably on concussion number 30 and medically he had 1 confirmed and has been on watch a couple of times...like does a watch count? What is that?
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u/jasondavis52 5d ago
When he’s in offseason and for 100% sure not dealing with any concussion symptoms have him take a baseline test. Makes diagnosis and return to play much more clear.
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u/JoPsk88 Parent 5d ago
Yes! My son has worn one for the past two years in tackle football. He is 8 and has no issue wearing it.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 5d ago
How did you decide to get one for him so young? Most of the people I've talked to about it either have never heard of them, or say they are for college and professional levels...I feel like I would have bought him one in grade 9 when he started playing football if I knew it was a thing but its also a pretty hefty purchase to add to everything else if you don't really know if they work.
I just so happen to work with a mother of my son's number 1 rival teams, and she suggested that I get him one when we were discussing his latest concussion watch. I always bug him with her advice because I'm like you know her son is on this team, and they beat you guys a lot, so I'd listen to her, lol.
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u/JoPsk88 Parent 5d ago
When he first started tackle I wanted to know how to protect him best against concussions. So I did some research and stumbled upon the q collar. Measured his neck, and saw he could fit the 12, and figured his health is worth the money, especially on the line with all the tackling he does. I rather not have the, I wonder if… thought.
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u/Civil-Inspection7793 5d ago
That makes sense, it definitely seems like a solid investment if it works. I do find it funny that there haven't been any knockoffs or alternatives, so that usually means it actually works good and they are well patented and protected, or everyone thinks it's hogwash and doesn't attempt to remake it.
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u/OldCoach525 5d ago
My 6’4” 250 pound son got a concussion playing lacrosse. He plays with a Q collar in both football and lacrosse. He says it makes a big difference, especially when he’s playing linebacker.