Skill Elements Neck Stretcher and Neck Brace, Cervical Traction Device for Pain Relief, Adjustable Neck Decompression Support, Ideal for Cervical Spine Alignment and Posture Correction

Who else hit their 40’s and started having random hurts in their body that happened because they slept too hard, or sneezed too fast? Despite working out and being in good overall health, I managed to slip a disk in my lower neck/upper back. This inflatable neck pillow was surprisingly effective in providing comfort. Combining it with physical therapy did provide much needed relief.I did look absolutely ridiculous with this thing on. It does a great job in decompressing my disks, but at the expense of pushing my cheeks way up and making me walk around very stiff. This listing on Amazon did not advertise entertainment as a feature of this product, but I am glad I was able to use this as a source of entertainment for my kids.I did see a negative review where someone complained that this took 100 pumps to inflate and wore out their hand. The bulb inflator is just like a blood pressure cuff. It was not difficult to inflate, but to get the full volume of air into the chambers, it did take a lot of pumps. No big deal though, it still only takes 30-45 seconds to fully inflate. That person was just looking for a reason to be negative. The quality of the bulb and hose, and the rolling lock to keep it inflated are fine and will last for a while. No issues there.So overall I am very happy with this, and though I hope I don’t have to use it again for a slipped disk, I may use it again to make my kids laugh. After all, laughter is the best medicine!

I am surprised at how much comfortable stretch/traction this pillow provides. I am a healthcare professional who works with bone/joint issues and I own some expensive traction equipment. This is not professional traction and because the forces are gentle, it does not require a professional gauge to tell you when you’ve reached 20, 30, 40 pounds. That said, it works pretty well for something low tech and very affordable. It’s in the shape of a compact travel pillow with a hose and manual bulb pump attached. This allows for use while seated and can be used pretty much anywhere. This is not a substitution for professional medical traction, but this is a great option for home use and travel, or for relieving the symptoms of general daily compression associated with computer work, poor posture, etc. Use is intuitive and the pillow should be used within a comfortable range. If the inflation feels too strong, use common sense and back it off a bit or stop. For me, I find it very comfortable and the pillow has Velcro straps to keep it secured without feeling too tight. Materials and workmanship are good for the price and my rating is based upon the price point for the item. On a side note, I look ridiculous when I’m wearing this, so this is 100% in the privacy of my own home and away from snickering family members.

I've struggled with daily neck pain from blown cervical disks and pinched nerves for years. I've been max dosing on Tylenol to keep pain in check, and occasional visits to chiropractor for professional traction to avoid the expense and loss of mobility associated with fusion surgery. So I definitely had high hopes for this device.Disappointed doesn't begin to describe my reaction.No instructions. No safety warnings. And very little in the way of observable results. It fits and pumps up as advertised, but all I could feel was pressure on the sides of my neck - not any "lift" to expand cervical vertebrae for relief.As another review stated, this is basically an unsafe inflatable neck pillow. Used improperly (see "no instructions / warning") - this thing could potentially be deadly. There's the possibility of cutting blood flow on carotid arteries, or asphyxiation.If you want to give it a shot - I implore you not to do so without adult supervision. Someone who can watch and get it off of you if you pass out.

This is basically a three-level, inflatable neck pillow — nothing more, nothing less. While it does provide decent decompression, I think it is not well-designed and certainly not user-friendly. Therefore, I would not recommend this product as a serious neck-decompression device.The material is comfortable on your neck, it does lift your head gently for decompression, and it is small enough for travel. HOWEVER, the device takes far too much effort to use. It took 95 pumps (!) on the air bulb to inflate the pillow fully. That is a *lot* of pumps; not only does it take a long time to inflate, but the process really tires out your hand. Unless you’re willing to combine strenuous hand exercises with neck decompression, I think that is way too much effort each time you want to use this device. I suppose you could just leave it inflated; however, while it’s easy to remove from your neck while inflated, getting it back on your neck in the right position can be challenging. The two Velcro straps which attach the ends while the device is on your neck work fine.The product arrived with no instructions. While it was not hard to figure out how to operate, I kept thinking I must be missing something because it shouldn’t require so much effort. You need to attach to bulb to the end of the air hose; then pump the bulb almost 100 times; and then roll the blue locking roller on the air hose to the locked position (otherwise, the thing will slowly deflate). When you’re finished, you need to roll the blue locking roller to the unlocked position, pull the air bulb off the end of the air tube and squeeze all the air out; alternatively, you can remove the other end of the air tube from the device and then squeeze the air out. Either way, it’s not a great system.I have used many neck-decompression devices, and found this product to be one of the most annoying ones. Even for the low price ($19.99 at time of order), they should have included (1) a one-way valve to keep air from escaping (since I’m guessing the blue locking roller is going to wear right through the air hose; it left ridged dents in the hose after only one use) and (2) a push-button release to deflate the pillow (since constantly attaching and unattaching one end of the air hose is not only annoying, it’s also going to stretch the opening of the air hose and reduce the efficiency of an already-inefficient pump process).Maybe this product would be okay for occasional use, but it’s a hard pass for me.2 stars.

I was so excited to get this as I have neck issues and figured it would help me. Immediately a piece broke off and I had no idea where or how it went. I still put in place and inflated it but upon deflation realized the piece that fell off was probably instrumental in letting the air out. I was disappointed it broke so easily but still believe I can use it and will. Otherwise felt great and worked fine.