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BEYOND THE ACHE: CERVIFIT

Once Available to Top Gun fighter Pilots, How One Small Company is Bringing Preventative Neck Strengthening Exercises to the Masses.

ANTHONY LOLLI

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“Some of you are wondering, who the best are.” These words spoken by Actor Tom Skerrit (Call sign Viper) in the blockbuster 1986 hit "Top Gun" resonated with CerviFit inventor Alan Philipson when in late 2019 after remotely instructing via Facetime a graduate of the elite Fighter Weapons School on the proper use and training with the CerviFit. Having recently retired from the U.S. Navy, flying F-14D Tomcats and F-18E Super Hornets, and a graduate of the Navy's prestigious TOPGUN Fighter Weapons School, the years of punishing carrier landings and launches had taken its toll on LCDR Robert Ceravolo neck. After a few months of consistent training, Alan received a text that focused his attention on putting his invention to use for the most elite aviation athletes in the world, the American fighter pilot.

The text read, “so this happened. I started flying F5s again! Started in September.”

What is the CerviFit®?

CerviFit comes from combining the words Cervical (Neck) and Fit (Fitness). The U.S Manufactured, patented CerviFit uses individual 1lb weight plates which can be stacked one on top of the other providing consistent isotonic (controlled weight/speed) resistance. Unlike neck strengthening devices that use bands and are attached to a fixed position, the CerviFit uses the physics of the fulcrum to provide resistance that makes the muscles work both independently and interdependently of each other challenging them as you move your head. The comfortable open-faced design allows the user an unobstructed view and the telescopic and adjustment features provide a comfortable and individualized fit unique to each user.

CerviFit

CerviFit was the choice of the elite F-35 fighter pilots.

Enter Eglin Air Force Base F-35 pilots

CerviFit was delivered to Eglin in October 2022 as part of the Air Force’s Spine Training Program (STP). An Oxford study reported that “84% of fighter pilots experienced neck pain, compared to 61% of non-fighter pilots.” Oxford Academic

In a proactive attempt to mitigate mechanical neck-related pain and improve warfighter readiness, CerviFit soon stood out as the choice of the elite F-35 fighter pilots with the Air Force publishing the results of the CerviFit in a study entitled: “Performance Optimization and Injury Mitigation for Air Force Student Fighter Pilots.” Published on September 1, 2024, in Military Medicine, this independent study evaluated the CerviFit's effectiveness among student F-35 pilots at Eglin Air Force Base. The findings revealed a significant 55.7% increase in Cervical Endurance Hold (CEH) times (P < 0.001, d = 1.97) among male participants using the CerviFit, compared to a 34.5% increase (P < 0.001, d = 1.09) in those using traditional ring weights at Luke Air Force Base. These findings illustrate the superior benefits of the CerviFit in enhancing neck strength and endurance.

A last wish and a son’s promise kept

Soon after the first CerviFit devices were delivered to Eglin, Langley, and Tyndall Air Force Bases, the CerviFit inventor’s mother, Cornelia Turk Philipson was diagnosed with cancer and given the grim 6-months to live prognosis. CerviFit inventor Alan Philipson recalls, “My life was profoundly changed after receiving the call from my brother and the Radiologist. I became her primary caregiver. For days after that diagnosis, I stared at the ceiling as my phone lit up with calls from friends, family, and many of the fighter pilots I was working with on CerviFit. I just let them go to voicemail. I didn’t want to think about anything much less Cervifit. My mom was my hero and the way I processed the news was to shut down.” With numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, and physical therapy, his mother showed him what true strength, courage, and resilience were.

“Due to her being incapacitated and spending much of her time propped up in bed, her neck was always stiff, and she asked me to use the CerviFit to stretch it while in her chair. The CerviFit gave her relief, and she called me in and said, “You need to make the CerviFit affordable so that average people not just insurance, and the Department of Defense can afford it”. Two weeks after making that promise, his mother succumbed to cancer. Inspired by his mother’s strength, Alan got back to work to make changes to the CerviFit. Based on the recommendations from both the Air Force and NASA, Alan was able to significantly reduce manufacturing costs and designed the CerviFit MX. Manufactured in the United States, the MX version is portable and more comfortable and the new carrying case lid features the logo for the Cervical Training Program or CTP. CTP are also the initials for Alan’s late mother. “I feel gratitude every time whether a fighter pilot or someone who wants to improve their cervical health opens that box.”

The Cervical Training Program (CTP) is something that Alan and former Air Force human performance specialist, now Director of Applied Health and Performance for SOPHIC Synergistics, Dr. Reginald O’Hara had been developing. The program will be available to both the public and warfighter communities with some technology integrations that due to military involvement Alan felt weren’t appropriate to discuss.

CerviFit

CerviFit comes from the words Cervical (Neck) and Fit (Fitness).

Neck Pain, Pervasive and Preventative

Benjamin Franklin’s words 250 years ago ring true today…” An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the current U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, has frequently expressed concerns about the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and has shown advocacy for a proactive approach to the epidemic. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, approximately 203 million people worldwide suffered from neck pain in 2020, making it one of the leading causes of disability (GBD 2020, Lancet). In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly 15% of adults experience neck pain within a three-month period, impacting their daily activities and overall well-being (CDC, National Health Interview Survey).

“I keep this picture of Robert Kennedy Jr’s late Uncle Jack and my mom’s dad, my grandfather Harold Turk, as a memory of two men who believed in equality in all aspects of life. The words of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech truly embody this journey, including the bureaucracy and challenges of designing and implementing a proactive, innovative health product and getting it both noticed and adapted by the elite warfighters.”

Those words spoken over a half-century ago are relevant today "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” “By making the CerviFit eligible to those on HSA/FSA and affordable, I am carrying on the democratization of proactive health. In keeping with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr’s proactive approach to chronic disease, neck pain is preventable. Based on both internal and independent studies CerviFit can play a key role in mitigating this disease” concludes Alan Philipson.

CerviFit is featured in the upcoming Spring 2025 edition of Biohack Yourself Magazine, where we dive deeper into their insights on biohacking, longevity, and cutting-edge wellness strategies. Biohack Yourself Magazine is the first peer-reviewed longevity publication with nationwide distribution across the U.S. and Canada, bringing science-backed health optimization, functional medicine, and performance-driven breakthroughs to a broader audience. Pick up a copy at major retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Publix, Kroger, Indigo/Chapters, and select fitness gyms and pharmacies, or visit BiohackYourself.com/magazine for more details.