Randomised, controlled, multicenter, pilot study comparing qigong and back school for elderly patients with chronic neck pain

INTERVENTION: Patients are randomized into the qigong and back school exercise groups (each 24 sessions of 45 min over a period of three months) CONDITION: Chronic neck pain ; Injury, Occupational Diseases, Poisoning ; Chronic neck pain PRIMARY OUTCOME: Pain measured on the VAS (visual analogue scale) after three months SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Neck pain (Neck Pain and Disability Scale, Wheeler); 2. Depression (Depression Scale, Hautzinger); 3. Quality of life (Short‐form Questionnaire‐36 [SF‐36], Bullinger); 4. Frequency of falls and anxiety to fall; 5. Sleep quality and satisfaction; 6. Overall treatment effect (OTE) (Wiklund) INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Age =55 years of age 2. Chronic neck pain (duration >6 months) 3. Average pain during the last 7 days before randomisation =20 mm on 100 mm VAS 4. Informed consent