from the FB:
get well soon guy!
thankfully it wasnt anything too serious
get well soon guy!
Dan Atherton injured
- Thread starter IH8Rice
- Start date
That sucks. Dan seems like a really good dude who can never seem to get a break.
Get well soon!
heal up quick dude!
Dan suffered a fractured C1/C2 vertebrae =break
That sucks. Dan seems like a really good dude who can never seem to get a break.
Get well soon!
Get well soon Dan
yikes
well, its good to see that he is human ; )
heal quick dude
well, its good to see that he is human ; )
heal quick dude
He'll be back, no doubt about it! You have to be thankful that there is no spinal cord damage though, a good friend of mine and the youngest ever overall South African WFO champion went down in January and just learn't how to sit on his own again a week or two back. All the same, <<<<<<<<Healing vibes>>>>>>>>
i still think dan should walk away from 4X and focus on DH. Unless it's a physical issue that can be rectified by training (and it doesn't seem that way), his gating is not going to get better.
He's done better in 4x than he ever did in DH, why would he give that up?
Anyway hope he's back on the bike soon, I like watching him ride.
socket: if he puts as much effort into DH as he does 4x, i reckon he would do better than he ever did, in DH that is. It's as Graves said: the days of a someone being ace in both disclipines is over. Specialise or eat dust. His frustration at continual lack of good form in 4x is evident. I dont think he is a crap rider, evidently not. But i think he could do better in DH. All does now in DH is line-spot for Gee.
I have to disagree. As socket pointed out, Dan has done alot better in 4x that he could ever do in downhill. It would be like Graves switching to DH, yes, he'll do well. But he'll never be world champ in the same way that Dan will never win a DH world cup as he has racing 4x and most probably will again in the future. But lets not let this derail the thread any more than it already has.
I'm sure he was wearing a half lid helmet (if at all) but this sort of injury is exactly what the Leatt was designed to prevent <endRalphNader> Healing vibes for sure. It seems sort of weird to wear a Leatt and a full face all the time but its catching on.
He might have done it falling off the side of a jump while leaned on his shovel for all you know. Let's get the full details before making that call.
I've broken my collarbone in half wearing the leatt while riding MX.I always wear it in MX.I don't on my DH bike cause the chance of more frequent ,smaller get offs that won't break your neck but seem like they would compromise the collarbone.It is a personal issue ,and not every crash is gonna break your neck ,but it did really suck dealing with that surgery and the aftermath.I know it's better than a wheelchair,but it's not always an either/or.----?by the way,this iPad is like crack ,somebody please tell me to get off my ass and go do something productive.Please...........help....me.
a cousin of mine had a halo put on after he was paralyzed in a moto accident. I remember seeing him and I was like 10 at the time. Those things still give me the heeby jeebies.
Will he be sporting a Leatt Brace when he returns?
why? its not like its a magical device that prevents all injuriesWill he be sporting a Leatt Brace when he returns?
You don't think it would have prevented his C1/C2 fracture? Maybe he would have broken something else like a collar bone, but wouldn't you rather have that vs. your neck?
we dont know how he fell on his head or neck. the Leatt doesnt prevent all types of neck/spine injuries
Helmets don't prevent all types of head injuries either, but bang your head hard enough whilst riding without one and you might consider wearing one in future.
Helmets do pretty much lessen all types of head injuries though. Will he jump with a full face and leatt in the future? Probably not, even if there is a good chance they would have prevented what happened. The friend of mine mentioned above broke his neck in a manner that would have been impossible for a Leatt to prevent according to the specialists. I'm just trying to say its not fair to shout Leatt every time someone injures their necks, especially when you don't know how it happened, let alone if you're an armchair engineer, doctor, etc.
screwed onto your skull!! Damm
http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spinal-cord-injury/halo-brace-use-cervical-fractures
http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spinal-cord-injury/halo-brace-use-cervical-fractures
I know exactly how Dan feels and hope he gets better soon. Im currently suffering from a similar injury after a huge crash straight onto my head in Morzine, France on Friday. Its pretty bad having people do a lot of things for you and feeling so helpless.
I was wearing a Leatt Brace when I crashed and I believe it saved my life or at least prevented me from being permanently confined to a wheelchair. After landing straight onto my head from 7 metres up I suffered 7 spinal fractures, D3 to D7 vertabrae and L2 to L3 vertabrae.
The Leatt did its job, it crumpled along with my helmet and prevented damage to the upper vertabrae close to my neck. Anyone who says riding DH without one is ok needs to have a crash without one and see how they end up... Healing vibes Dan, probably back riding about same time as me if all goes well for us!
I was wearing a Leatt Brace when I crashed and I believe it saved my life or at least prevented me from being permanently confined to a wheelchair. After landing straight onto my head from 7 metres up I suffered 7 spinal fractures, D3 to D7 vertabrae and L2 to L3 vertabrae.
The Leatt did its job, it crumpled along with my helmet and prevented damage to the upper vertabrae close to my neck. Anyone who says riding DH without one is ok needs to have a crash without one and see how they end up... Healing vibes Dan, probably back riding about same time as me if all goes well for us!
Holy sh*t mate, that sounds horrific, glad to hear that you expect to be back riding though. 7 metres onto your head is an insane drop when you think about it.
Jesus - between work and everything else I'm not sure how I missed this last month but, glad to know that Dan is going to come out of this intact! That halo brace he's in looks awful, but it sounds like he will have the bolts out in October. He's a lucky guy with a great family. It's awesome to see Rache and Gee look after him.
Get well soon Dan!
From VitalMTB:
http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/The-Atherton-Project-Episode-7,3450/bturman,109
Get well soon Dan!
From VitalMTB:
http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/The-Atherton-Project-Episode-7,3450/bturman,109
Just watched the latest Atherton project, what a legend Dan is, a true inspiration IMO. Can't believe how calm he was!
Get well soon dude!
Get well soon dude!
Wow that dude is HARD!
Can't wait to see him back.
Can't wait to see him back.
Jump to around 3:30 in the video linked-to above and you'll get Dan's answer...
(here's a hint... He'll be "wearing a Leatt 24/7")
theres no way he'd know for sure unless he had it on. like others have said before, you can still break your neck with a neck brace on.
Why yes, you are technically correct of course, but no need to be such a pedantic jerk about it...
Do you ride with a helmet on? There's only one way to prove that's any use - build or find a parallel universe and get the other-IH8Rice to crash without a helmet in the same exact way that you crash wearing a helmet (allowing for different momentum/accel effects of the aerodynamics and mass of the helmet of course) and seeing what (if any) differences in injury are.
Easy.
or...
Just apply some common sense eh?
and you dont have to be the obvious jerk off either.
saying that a neck brace or helmet would have saved him from breaking his neck is very naive. sure it could have prevented it. and sure it could have made it worse.
I am taking IH8Rice's advice and not going to wear a helmet, armour, or stinking neck brace, among other items, because you can still get injured wearing those things. 
yep, thats exactly what i said 
ehm, you talking to an american...
Holy generalization batman!
typical german
Sausage lover?