Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Q-collar: Concussion pseudoscience?

#1
C C Offline
http://theconversation.com/concussion-pr...und-105246

EXCERPT: . . . Supposedly, the Q-Collar also replicates how woodpeckers naturally protect themselves from headaches. According to company information, woodpeckers compress their jugular vein using their neck muscles to induce “tighter fit” and reduce brain “slosh.” While this amazing-sounding mechanism is often presented as a fact, it does not seem to be mentioned anywhere in over a century of scientific studies examining woodpeckers.

I thoroughly examined all of the woodpecker papers I could find, and then tracked down all of their references, and repeated the process. I discovered ornithology papers from the 1700s through cutting-edge engineering models of woodpecker biomechanics, but none mentioned jugular compression. Thus, it is not surprising that the company does not cite any scientific references to woodpecker literature.

Even if this mechanism does exist and has been somehow overlooked by woodpecker researchers, evolution gave the woodpecker numerous unique protective adaptations. I teamed up with a woodpecker researcher and published a summary of these mechanisms in October 2018. These include a specialized skull bone structure and a shock-absorbing beak. Woodpeckers even use very specific postures and movements to brace themselves, which helps to dissipate force away from their brains. We concluded that these multiple protective mechanisms work in harmony, which cannot be replicated by simply pushing on one’s jugular vein.

New research suggests that woodpeckers may indeed experience brain injuries similar to those seen in humans. Regardless, the physics of woodpecker drumming are quite different than that of sports concussions, which generally happen with unpredictable timing, and involve considerable head rotation. Despite its intuitive appeal, I believe that a woodpecker-mimicking collar is more pseudoscience than innovation....

MORE: http://theconversation.com/concussion-pr...und-105246
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Article Occam's razor the only feature that differentiates science from pseudoscience? C C 3 97 Dec 20, 2023 05:21 PM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos
  Article Top five worst ‘uses’ for crystals in the world of wellness and pseudoscience C C 0 53 Nov 10, 2023 06:59 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article ITT (a theory of consciousness) slammed as ‘pseudoscience’ — sparking uproar C C 1 104 Sep 24, 2023 08:06 PM
Last Post: Magical Realist
  Article 10 times the unexpected appearance of pseudoscience ruined entertainment C C 0 63 Jul 25, 2023 07:12 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article "Nature" falls for autism pseudoscience + Politically skewered research funding C C 0 58 May 17, 2023 05:16 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article Research finds no gender bias in academic science + WHO's pseudoscience problem C C 0 65 Apr 29, 2023 06:44 PM
Last Post: C C
  Toxic masculinity is a harmful myth + Electric universe is crank pseudoscience C C 0 298 Oct 19, 2022 12:20 AM
Last Post: C C
  4 categories of pseudoscience — and how to talk to people who believe in them C C 1 86 May 26, 2022 09:41 AM
Last Post: Yazata
  When Biblically inspired pseudoscience and clickbait cause looting C C 0 93 Jan 3, 2022 08:13 PM
Last Post: C C
  How I learned to love pseudoscience C C 2 121 Oct 11, 2021 09:43 PM
Last Post: Syne



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)