Breathing exercises did not show a clear advantage for neck pain
In a small trial, breathing and neck exercises both accompanied improvements in pain and disability. The between-group results remained inconclusive for these outcomes.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Breathing exercises improved breathing patterns, but their effects on neck pain and disability were inconclusive compared with general neck exercises. Both groups improved on pain and disability measures. The study therefore leaves uncertainty about any additional symptom benefit from breathing exercises, even though the targeted breathing pattern changed.
Intervention duration, pain-scale units and the clinical importance of the reported differences are not given in the abstract. Both groups received other physical treatments, so improvement cannot be attributed to either exercise program alone.
What researchers found
Pain and neck disability
Breathing versus neck exercises: differences in change from before to after treatment were not statistically significant; treatment duration was not reported.
Shared treatments matter
All participants also received thermoelectric therapy, soft-tissue relaxation and mobilization of the upper spine. Because these accompanied both exercise programs, the comparison concerns the choice of exercise within a broader treatment package.
Different outcomes, different patterns
Deep neck-flexor muscle endurance improved in both groups, with greater gains in the neck-exercise group. Better breathing patterns and better muscle endurance are separate outcomes; neither automatically establishes greater relief of pain or disability.
The original publication
The impact of a breathing exercise program on pain, disability, and breathing patterns in patients with non-specific neck pain: A randomized controlled trial.
Heo H, Shin D
Complement Ther Med · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40967423
- Record checked
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