If you have neck pain or you’ve been trying to strengthen your neck, you’ve probably seen these two products: the Iron Neck, and the NecksLevel Glide. Today I’m going to do a review and comparison between the two and give my opinion as a physical therapist as to which one you might consider.
We’ll cover these 4 areas: Design/Ease of Use, Practicality, Effectiveness and Price. I’ll also include any discounts I find for both of these products. As a side note, I personally purchased the NecksLevel for my own use and I’ve been borrowing an Iron Neck from my friend for the past 6 months so that I could do this comparison.
Design and Ease of Use: Iron Neck vs. NecksLevel
First, let’s start off with design and ease of use. Both of these are relatively easy to use, but the setup is quite a bit different. The Iron Neck is designed to be used while standing or sitting – basically you need to be upright because the device has to be connected to an anchor, most commonly placed at eye level. While this unit is a little older, the setup is relatively the same. You place the Iron Neck on your head like a hat and use the straps to tighten it down, as well as the pump on the side to help it fit snugly against your head. And while it might feel a little awkward at first, I do like how much adjustability these have because obviously everyone’s head is going to be sized a little differently, so they did a very good job with adjustability when it comes to design. I will say if you are using this with more than one person, I can see how it might be a little frustrating to readjust everything every time you go to use it, but that won’t be an issue for most people.
The NecksLevel Glide is designed to be used in multiple positions: sitting, standing, and most commonly while lying down. In physical therapy, lying down is usually the preferred position for reducing neck pain and improving range of motion because it reduces the compressive forces of gravity in this position. This is one of the biggest differences we have in terms of design and the ease of use because the NecksLevel Glide can be used almost anywhere without having to attach it to anything. Now it does come with a head strap that you can use to have a little more grip against the sliding board, but personally, I don’t feel the need to use this unless I’m working up into higher resistance bands, or I’m performing the movement in a standing or seated position. Someone with a lot of hair may choose to use the strap for better grip and to avoid pulling against their hair. Either way, it’s super easy to use and comfortable if you choose to use it with or without the strap.
How Practical Are These Devices?
In terms of how practical it is to use either of these units, I think If you have a permanent space where you can hook up the Iron Neck to a wall anchor that’s the best way to set up this device. Honestly for safety reasons that’s the only way I would do it. I do not recommend putting this in a door frame – I don’t trust that kind of setup when it comes to a resistance band with a metal attachment on the end of it that could possibly detach and hit me at head level.
Now, in terms of the NecksLevel Glide, as long as you have a clear space to lie down on the floor, a bed or a treatment table, it’s really easy to use it wherever you need. It’s very simple to set up yourself, just center your head on the device, and you can start stretching or add resistance bands for building strength.
Effectiveness for Reducing Neck Pain and Strengthening
And that leads into the next question, you’re probably asking “do these things actually work.” Are they effective? The short answer is yes, they are, but you need to know what you’re using it for. Now I’m not here to bash either of these products; they both work the neck but here’s where I would lead you when deciding between the two.
If you have everyday neck pain or especially chronic neck pain, I would lead you to consider the NecksLevel Glide.
If you are looking to improve your neck strength with dynamic movements like using your arms or moving your body at the same time, then consider the Iron Neck.
Personally, I think the NecksLevel Glide is more suited for getting someone out of neck pain and progressing them through a safe strengthening program because you can start with zero resistance and easily use the sliding board to stretch into a pain-free range of motion very gradually. The Iron Neck doesn’t start there – it starts with resistance, which for some people is just too much, especially if they’ve been dealing with chronic neck pain.
When I treat people in the clinic for neck pain, one of the first things we do is identify ways they can improve their range of motion. We don’t jump right into strengthening because most of the time, they can’t do this without pain. And if you have been dealing with neck pain for a while, you understand this challenge: You’d like to get stronger, but right now you can’t turn your head without stabbing pains in your neck – it’s a vicious cycle.
So that’s my approach to addressing neck pain as a physical therapist: by restoring the pain-free range of motion first, then building up strength through resistance training. And when it’s time to start resistance training, I focus on targeting the small stabilizer muscles of the neck that help to control rotation, lateral movements, and flexion and extension of the neck. I can achieve all of these movements with the NecksLevel both with and without resistance. The IronNeck only provides lateral resistance through the main resistance band pulling against the head unit, unless you pay extra for the Pro version that provides rotational resistance.
Now, if the Iron Neck is all you have access to and you have neck pain, I would just caution you to avoid straining your neck with too much resistance at the start. It’s not going to do you any good to try to strengthen your neck with painful movements. That’s why we try to work to strengthen in a pain-free range, and if you can’t move your neck without sharp pain, then I wouldn’t recommend the Iron Neck to start. I’d recommend using something like the NecksLevel Glide to reduce pain and to introduce gentle strengthening and then gradually increase the resistance.
Price Comparison: NecksLevel vs. Iron Neck
In terms of price, neither of these units are cheap, but they are cheaper than going to a physical therapist or a chiropractor, which is why I think it’s worth investing in one of these for home use.
Both the Iron Neck and NecksLevel devices have two products, basically a standard version and a pro version. For the Iron Neck, the standard version costs $350 and only provides linear resistance, meaning the only tension you’ll get is from this main band pulling the entire unit away from you. That’s different than the Iron Neck Pro, which is $599 and includes rotational resistance. In my opinion, if you’re going to have a neck strengthening device, you absolutely need one with rotational resistance. If you want the Iron Neck, you’ll be paying about $600 for the one that strengthens your neck through resisted rotation.
Now NecksLevel has a standard unit called the Glide that sells for $375, but you can save $25 with the promo code PTProgress, which drops the price to $350, the same as the Iron Neck. Now the biggest difference here is that the NecksLevel Glide gives you that rotational resistance with 3 levels of resistance bands, and you can easily upgrade your bands for another $40. The NecksLevel Glide PRO is slightly larger and has measurement marks for therapists to reference in the clinic, and is wall mountable so you can use it in sitting or standing. The NecksLevel Glide Pro comes in at $625, but the same coupon code PTProgress knocks off $25, so it’ll run $600.
Basically, the NecksLevel and the Iron Neck have the same price points, but the NecksLevel provides rotational resistance for $350, whereas the Iron Neck provides rotational resistance for $600.
Final Thoughts and Comparison
The bottom line with these devices is that both can be great tools to strengthen your neck. In my opinion, the NecksLevel Glide is better if you have neck pain and you’re trying to rehab on your own. That’s because you can work through pain-free movements without resistance and easily add light to heavy resistance as you are able to safely perform the movements without any symptoms.
The Iron Neck lacks the ability to control precise movements in an unweighted or lying position, which is crucial if you’re trying to get rid of neck pain while strengthening the stabilizing muscles of your neck. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Iron Neck has a place when it comes to strengthening the neck, but from my perspective as a physical therapist, I find that I can achieve better strengthening of these small neck muscles with the NecksLevel while also having the benefits of unresisted movement to help decrease pain, especially for people who have chronic neck pain.
So there you have it – both the Iron Neck and NecksLevel can be purchased for about $350. But, if you want rotational resistance, which is a must in my opinion, you’ll need to buy the pro version of the Iron Neck for $600, whereas the NecksLevel Glide provides rotation resistance with their standard unit for $350.
If you’re a high-level athlete who wants to improve neck stability with dynamic standing movements, then check out the Iron Neck. But if you have chronic neck pain and need to get that under control first, I’d suggest you consider the NecksLevel Glide.
