Affiliations: [a] Motor Control and Learning, Institute for Human Movement Sciences and Sports, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland | [b] Exercise Physiology Lab, Institute for Human Movement Sciences and Sports, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland | [c] Department of Chiropractic Medicine, University Hospital Balgrist, Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic neck pain show also respiratory
dysfunctions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of respiratory muscle
endurance training (RMET) on chronic neck pain. METHODS: In this pilot study (single-subject design: 3 baseline
measurements, 4 measurements during RMET), 15 neck patients (49.3 ± 13.7
years; 13 females) conducted 20 sessions of home-based RMET using a
SpiroTiger® (normocapnic hyperpnoea). Maximal voluntary
ventilation (MVV), maximal inspiratory (Pimax) and expiratory
(Pemax) pressure were measured before and after RMET. Neck flexor
endurance, cervical and thoracic mobility, forward head posture, chest wall
expansion and self-assessed neck disability [Neck Disability Index (NDI),
Bournemouth questionnaire] were weekly assessed. Repeated measure ANOVA
(Bonferroni correction) compared the first and last baseline and the last
measurement after RMET. RESULTS: RMET significantly increased MVV (p= 0.025), Pimax (p= 0.001) and Pemax (p< 0.001). During RMET, neck disability
significantly decreased (NDI: p= 0.001; Bournemouth questionnaire: p= 0.002),
while neck flexor endurance (p< 0.001) and chest wall expansion (p< 0.001)
increased. The changes in respiratory and musculoskeletal parameters did not correlate. CONCLUSIONS: RMET emerged from this pilot study as a feasible and
effective therapy for reducing disability in patients with chronic neck
pain. The underlying mechanisms, including blood gas analyses, need further
investigation in a randomized controlled study.
Keywords: Neck pain, respiratory dysfunction, respiratory muscle endurance training
