A few months ago, I stumbled upon Ribcap. To be honest, I saw one of those Facebook ads that sort of randomly and strangely pops up —–as if an actual Facebook god read your mind and chose to share a product ad that they know will speak to you— Truth be told ->I clicked the ad (and am glad I did!!). It was for a company called RIBCAP, which prior to giving into the aesthetically pleasing advertisement -I knew nothing about.
Ironically, a few weeks later RIBCAP messaged me with an interest in learning about my career insights as well as my thoughts about headgear. Before answering I found myself exploring their website –noting that for one they were based out of Belgium and for two wow these headgear elements do not look like traditional bulky obtrusive pieces…
As an occupational therapist and LSVT BIG Certified Clinician (What is this? and Where are certified clinicians in my area? Click here!) with experience working with adult patients who have neurological diagnoses or deficits, one of the repeating injuries I see involves injury and deficits as a result from head / brain trauma. Persons who have Parkinson’s Disease, Epilepsy, Traumatic Brain Injuries… or kiddos with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and more have an increased prevalence of injuries to the head. That is why when I began researching about Ribcap I found myself intrigued in learning more.
It is no secret that head injuries are a public challenge and occur daily! One of my passions as a therapist is to provide tools and resources to those I come in contact in ways they can integrate prevention into their daily life practice.
Prevention integrates mindset, a healthy diet, sleep, exercise, joint protection, ergonomics, the works –into one’s daily life for the purpose of hopefully reducing the risk of injury and disease. (This topic is its own blog post). For the sake of this blog post, I will be discussing subjective perspectives of the Ribcap product line.
***Disclaimer: This is not medical or therapeutic device. The wearing of Ribcap products does not eliminate all potential risks of head injury.***
Moral of the story, I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Ribcap because it is a product that makes a lot of sense to me!
About Ribcap
Ribcap was created over a decade ago to address the need for providing integrative fashionable protective headgear that can be worn in daily life while preserving one’s dignity and self-image. So in a nutshell, Ribcap makes protective headwear fashionable and less stigmatizing. Per insight from the founders, Ribcap is hopeful to expand their headgear product line to eventually include fully body, hip, and knee protection.
Who are the Products for?
As noted above this is not an all-inclusive list, and although I am an occupational therapist, I am not your occupational therapist (nor am I a physician); it is important to ask and go by what your medical team suggests! Nevertheless, from my research about the company and my personal clinical thought process,
Ribcap headgear may be fashionable, sturdy substitutes for:
- kiddos who have tendencies to do head-banging behaviors (perhaps kiddos with autism)
- kiddos or adults with epilepsy or seizure disorders
- individuals who have reduced muscle tone or presents with muscle wasting
- individuals who have neurological disorders who may be more at risk for falls
- elderly adults who are a high fall risk
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My Summed Up Thoughts on Ribcap
Love the concept. Amazed by the designs. Colors are beautiful (although I chose to go with neutral colors to order for purpose of giving away to either a boy or a girl in the future).Awed by the quality of the materials; they have a wide selection of colors with fun, different names:) Some of the colors include Anthracite (Greyish Black), Bordeaux (Burgendy red), Grey, Khaki (Tannish Green), Marine (Deep Blue), and Rose (Blush Pink) ! Biggest con: the cost – $$$ unfortunately it costs money to have an item be used as a protective headgear element.
***Transparency: I am an affiliate so if you choose to use my links or codes I make a teensy profit, which I am appreciative for because I spend a lot of time interacting and engaging with companies and writing up these posts:)
Any questions??? Ask away!
With Love,
Shannen Marie OT 