Study Summary

32 patients with non-specific neck pain and an upper chest breathing pattern were randomized to breathing exercise or neck exercise. One participant in each group was lost to follow-up, resulting in 15 analyzed per group. Both groups received manual therapy and thermoelectric therapy twice weekly for 4 weeks. The outcomes included pain intensity (NRS), neck disability index (NDI), cervical range of motion (ROM), breathing pattern, and deep cervical flexor endurance. Outcomes were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Overall, the results of the study revealed that both groups demonstrated significant within-group improvements in pain and disability. Breathing pattern improved significantly only in the breathing exercise group, while deep cervical flexor endurance improved in both groups, with greater gains in the neck exercise group. These findings suggest breathing retraining specifically corrects dysfunctional breathing patterns but does not demonstrate additional pain or disability benefit over neck exercises in the short term.