The HeadUp Collar is the first of its kind and was developed as the result of an innovative five-year interdisciplinary project at the University of Sheffield (UK). It has been proven many thousands of times since 2018. Patients with MND helped to design the unique collar which, unlike those currently available, offers personalized support to the collection of small muscles in the neck that are responsible for the loss of strength and decrease in head control; the HeadUp Collar provides the best possible support and assistance while allowing sufficient mobility. The head support system was extensively tested during the development phase and was very positively received by patients, caregivers and professionals.
Some of the comments included:
- "This collar gives support but also more freedom of movement – I can wear it to drive."
- "Other, more rigid collars were painful – I couldn’t wear them for too long, I can wear this collar for eight hours straight – I wear it at work."
- "I’ve tried the soft foam collars before but they don’t give enough support, they just crumbled."
- "Looks good… everyone who sees me in it says it looked brilliant – like a polo neck. I’m less self-conscious now."
- "Great compromise between stability, support and mobility"
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that destroys the cells that control movement, leaving sufferers increasingly unable to move, walk, talk and eventually breathe. Treatment options for this degenerative disease are purely symptomatic. ALS patients have a significantly limited life expectancy of usually two to five years from diagnosis.
A frequent problem caused by ALS is the loss of strength in the neck muscles, causing the patient's head to fall to the side or front. Until now, many head supports available to ALS patients resemble the restrictive braces used after whiplash trauma - such as a car accident - or soft foam neck braces used for cervical syndrome.
By design, cervical collars for patients after whiplash trauma restrict any residual head movement. Therefore, many patients find them very restrictive, uncomfortable, bulky, painful, and very limiting in activities of daily living, such as chewing and turning the head. So, most of the patients choose not to wear them. The soft foam neck collars offer little support and tend to make patients feel hot and sweaty.
No conventional neck brace could meet the specific needs of ALS patients. This gave birth to the development of the HeadUp Collar under the direction of renowned neurology professor Chris McDermott, of the University of Sheffield.
He notes, "The Head Up collar was very much designed by patients for patients. While something like this collar is not going to change the disease course, we hope it will help improve patients' quality of life and help them get the most out of what they can do. We listened to what matters to them and what will have the greatest impact on their quality of life. The concept itself seems extremely simple and we couldn’t believe something like this had not been developed and patented before."
In a scientific study entitled: "Efficacy of the Head Up collar in facilitating functional head movements in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis", Professor Chris McDermott and his team were able to prove the effectiveness of this special head support.
The combination of high quality and innovative materials, coupled with the desire to help improve the quality of life for ALS patients, has resulted in a fantastic product that has helped many people with ALS in the UK since 2018 and is now available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
REHACARE.com; Source: ProWalk GmbH
