What is a Shants collar and is it worth wearing it

What is Shants collar

The Shants collar is a special brace worn by the Guide to Wearing Your Cervical Hard Collar / Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust around the neck to secure and support it. But under this name he is known in the territory of the former USSR. In other countries, it is known as a neck collar.

The Shants collar can be hard or soft, but the purpose of use is the same - to reduce the load on the neck.

What is the Shants collar used for?

Usually it helps with such pathologies S. Muzin, Z. Isaac, J. Walker, O. E. Abd, J. Baima. When should a cervical collar be used to treat neck pain? / Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine:

Whiplash injury. This is an injury that occurs in the cervical spine when the head is thrown back abruptly. Moreover, there is no dislocation or fracture. This usually happens during an accident.
Fracture or dislocation in the cervical spine. The neck collar helps to stabilize the position of the vertebrae, so they grow together better.
Cervical radiculopathy. This is a painful condition in which a person's nerve root near the spine is pinched. This happens with spondylosis, herniated disc, spinal tumors. Sometimes cervical radiculopathy is provoked by injuries with a ruptured nerve root.
Postural orthostatic tachycardia. So called M. Nardone, J. Guzman, P. J. Harvey, J. S. Floras, H. Edgell. Effect of a neck compression collar on cardiorespiratory and cerebrovascular function in postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) / Journal of Applied Physiology - a condition when cerebral circulation decreases, heart rate increases, dizziness may appear due to constriction of the vertebral arteries in the neck. Typically, these symptoms occur when moving from a seated to a standing position.

Wearing a Shants collar can only be prescribed by a doctor; you should not resort to this method of treatment on your own. For example, for common neck pain, experts do not recommend wearing a bandage. Especially hard, which severely restricts mobility. Scientists consider S. Muzin, Z. Isaac, J. Walker, O. E. Abd, J. Baima. When should a cervical collar be used to treat neck pain? / Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine that healthy neck muscles can atrophy due to lack of stress.

How to wear a Shants collar

For the first time, it is put on and fixed by a doctor - neurologist or orthopedic traumatologist. The collar should fit snug but comfortable. If it is too loose, it will not fix the neck well, and too tight can rub and cause pain. Movement in the cervical spine is limited, but a person needs to monitor posture and not slouch. In addition, you must not lift and carry weights.

Shants' collar is worn all the time without taking it off. Doctors only allow you to gently unfasten it in a lying position and put it on in the same way to clean it from dirt or replace the removable pads inside the bandage.

How to sleep with a Shants collar

They don't get rid of it at night. So that the collar does not interfere with sleep, experts from the American medical resource Healthline recommend What Is a Cervical Collar Used For and Are There Side Effects? / Health Line the following:

Sleep on a comfortable and firm enough mattress.
Keep the neck in a neutral position without bending forward, backward or turning to the side.
Do not sleep in a crooked position, the neck should be in line with the body.
Sleep on your back on a thin pillow. But too much will increase the load on the neck.

To get out of bed, you need to gently roll onto your side, hang your legs down and, pushing yourself with your hands, rise.

How to wash with a Shants collar

This must be done so that the band remains dry. Therefore, some experts recommend wrapping the collar in foil.

Better yet, take a bath, not a shower, so that the spray does not fall on the neck area. Although using a shower head, you have to move your neck less.

How to clean a Shants collar

If it is a soft collar, as it gets dirty, it is removed and washed with soap or other non-aggressive means. Then they are dried. In order not to leave the neck unsupported at this time, it is better to have two bandages.

Rigid models are cleaned daily. To do this, they are unbuttoned in a lying or sitting position - depending on how the doctor recommends. Then replaceable soft elements are washed, and dirt is removed from the collar itself. After that, you can secure the clean pads and put on the bandage again.

How much to wear a Shants collar

Everything is individual and depends on why it was recommended. In some cases, Neck pain / Mayo Clinic is sufficient for several weeks to reduce the strain on the neck. And someone will have to walk in it much longer - for example, until the damaged parts of the neck heal.

At the same time, they stop wearing the collar gradually Guide to Wearing Your Cervical Hard Collar / Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. And to strengthen the muscles, they do special exercises.

Can a Shants collar hurt

Yes maybe. Especially if you wear it more Neck pain / Mayo Clinic for 1-2 weeks. During this time, the muscles of the neck become weaker, because they do not fulfill their functions.

Too tight a bandage compresses the skin, causing the Guide to Wearing Your Cervical Hard Collar / Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to develop pressure sores. Therefore, it is necessary to use the Shants collar strictly on the recommendation of a doctor.