Most of those devices not only look "hokey," they look downright scary for someone with herniated disks!
I can only give you some of my experience: after c5/c6 herniated, I had an increasingly head-forward position and my mri indicated loss of normal curve in my neck. Having read that kyphosis can be a contraindication to ADR (or at least some ADR devices), I asked my surgeon about this and he explained that I did not really have kyphosis, that the loss of curve was the result of my injury and that the ADR would correct this. Now that I am post-op, I can hold my head back (but it's a matter of postural re-training now) but I'm not sure what my X-rays show in this regard--it will be a question for my next visit with him.
Incidentally, I had 7 years of PT, including traction, with no "restoration of the curve."
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