Do Full-Face Helmets Offer Greater Protection Against Cervical Spinal Cord Injury than Open-Face Helmets?

In 1979, Yeo (1979a,b) reported a lower likelihood of damage to the cord of the cervical spine (cervical spinal cord injury, or cervical SCI) for wearers of full-face helmets compared with open-face helmets among motorcyclists that had sustained a head impact. However, it appears that the study suffered from factors biasing the results away from the null hypothesis. The present study suggests that there may be no added benefit or harm of the full-face helmet relative to the open-face helmet on cervical SCI.

Keywords:

• Helmets
• Motorcyclists
• Neck Injury
• Prevention
• Spinal Cord Injury