Drive Medical 13004 Overdoor Cervical Neck Traction Device

My doctor swears by this device and I am currently using it to treat painful cervical radiculopathy (pinched nerve) in my neck.First thing to do is discard the absurd water bag for counterweight. Get an empty one gallon plastic bleach bottle and nearly fill it with water. It will weigh about 7 1/2 lbs that is normally prescribed - check it with a luggage scale. Place the filled container in a re-usable shopping bag and you have a quick and safe weight to attach to the rear cord. Finding how to fit the harness under your neck and head is maddeningly difficult as the rear "straps down" instruction, no photo, requires that this part is a half-twist from the front chin strap.To start, I simply fit the device as illustrated over a door and sit on a chair beneath it to adjust the length of cord so that the weighted bag will be about a foot off the floor when being used. I begin by sitting on the chair with the weighted shopping bag on my lap and fit the straps under my chin and head while pulling on the cord to lift the straps up and allow me to attach the two velcro bands from the rear to the front. Then I slowly lift the weight bag off my lap so it gently takes up the tension as it falls towards the floor. This feels completely safe and I don't fear I might hang myself accidentally as I am in total control.Once fitted (the first time requires some patience, to say the least) I sit listening to music for 30 minutes before stopping by lifting the weight bag up and placing it on my lap to remove the neck straps. I take the device off the door and put it all in the shopping bag with weight bottle and hide it away in a closet ready for the next day's traction session. It is all so easy once you have done it the first time. The therapeutic results are already encouraging after only three days use. No more jolts of nerve pain in my shoulders. I also bought the inflatable neck traction device but it is barely effective for real neck traction. I will take it, however, when I next go on a plane trip as the over-door device is really too heavy to add to your luggage.

I have owned several of these contraptions over the years. this is the worst one yet. I just used this particular brand for the first time and felt the immediate need to express how bad it is. The worst thing that did not become apparent until I used it was that they have really skimped on materials AND MADE THE NECK HARNESS VERY SMALL . It was so tight it hurt my neck. The straps were cutting into my neck and I am fairly skinny. the others were roomy. there was not enough material for the chin strap part to cover my chin but instead only lifted from underneath my chin, and cutting into the front of my throat. The straps on the sides of my neck were rubbing me raw there. Also, there was literally no room for adjustment. the hook and loop straps had no room for play and there was literaly only one inch on each side holding it together. while I was trying to adjust it, it was tearing and coming apart. PATHETIC.When I opened it i immediately noticed that the rope is now a long white shoe lace. I am not joking. It is literally a shoe lace. PATHETIC. and the bag was the same but that has always been garbage. they leak. condensation builds up on the outside getting anything wet. Eventually they always pop. A bucket and rocks would work better. And then then there is the continued fact that the lateral support above your head is so short that you must have the water/weight behind you while you face away from the door. another dumb inconvenient idea. On a side note, I found a really old model in good will. the bar used to be much stronger than they are now. These bars are the same and they always end up bending because the hole in the middle of the bar is a weak point. This product is so uncomfortable that it is unusable. they should be ashamed of the selves for selling this.

Installation is a bit difficult with the door clamp not being adjustable for door thicknesses.I had to remove the anti-mar plastic tits to use on my outside door.The head harness is hard to put on without help and it is close to painful on the chin after 15 minutes of use.The unit is sturdy and performs well for my 15 minutes at 10 lbs of weight.

I work out with free weights and strained my neck many years ago. I've been using a massager at least once a day and still have a stiff neck on a daily basis. I've only been using this devise for a few weeks and the stiffness is improving. I found it better to place the front strap under my chin; however the back strap can't be attached to the front strap as the joining straps are too short. The back strap still takes on some of the weight of the water pack. I've been using around 20 lbs for 10 minutes each day. This is the first relief I've had in many months.

Got this for parent who needed PT after a fall. Here's the main grips we had with this unit:1) The neck/head harness really needs to be better made, the material is stiff and rubs against skin. The straps are also flipped and it's hard to position the tension to be correctly balanced.2) The metal bar - should have a grip padding, it really hurts the user's hand after prolonged sessions.

The design is a bit different than the one I bought a few years ago. But seems to work ok. I have to throw away everything but the chin strap. I have a chinning bar over my door that the attach the chin strap to. Then I use all my body weight to give my neck a good stretch. This version had weak D rings that opened with my weight. The old D rings were solid. The old chin strap wore out. This one looks better made.After using for two months it seems the right hand side of the strap is a little short. It catches the top of my ear every time.