Spinal injuries have long been the bane of on- and off-road motorcyclists, and many companies are now making neck protection devices that combine with high-end back braces to provide outstanding protection in case of a bad crash.

These prevention devices vary from advanced neck braces to inflatable vests that also protect the rider. Comfort may not be satisfactory for long distance riding, but more and more competition organizations will make such devices mandatory, much like what happened with the Head and Neck Protection System (HANS) for car racing.

On the cure side, more and more information is coming out about better ways to treat bone breaks and, importantly, back and spine injuries.

Gizmag has just published an article about such work, at: (http://www.gizmag.com/researchers-regenerate-nerve-connections/15980/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=2dd0ce7647-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email.

Such preventative and curative advances are one of the keys to the continued growth of our sport in these days of governmental intrusion into personal lives, and the rising costs of recovery from and life with major injuries.

Message to all those scientists out there: Keep the good news coming please!