The effect of Breathing Pattern Re-education Exercise in neck pain patients with a Forward Head Posture

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cervical stabilization exercise(CSE) combined with breathing pattern re-education exercise(BPRE) compared CSE on pain, disability, muscle activity, and range of motion(ROM) in neck pain(NP) patients with forward head posture(FHP). Method: BPRE+CSE(n=15) and Conservative physical therapy(CT)+CSE(n=15) groups were received treatment three times per week for four weeks, respectively. A numeric pain rating scale(NPRS), neck disability index(NDI), ROM, and surface electromyography(SEMG) activities of sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle and scalene muscle were measured before and after the treatments for each group. A paired t-test was conducted to test the changes before and after the treatments and an independent t-test was performed to evaluate the difference between groups. Results: In NPRS, NDI, ROM and muscle activity both BPRE+CSE and CT+CSE showed differences (p<.05). BPRE+CSE showed more reduction in NPRS, NDI and muscle activity more increase in ROM(p<.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that the BPRE can pain relief, recovery from neck disability, ROM, and muscle activity for NP patients with a FHP.