Qigong and Exercise for Neck Pain in Adults (QENA)

Inclusion Criteria: * clinical diagnosis of chronic neck pain since at least 6 months and complaints for a maximum duration of 5 years * neck pain more prominent than other pain in the spine * average pain intensity of the last 7 days more or equal to 40 mm measured by a visual analogue scale (VAS 0 - 100 mm) * normal mobility of the cervical spine * intellectual and physical ability to participate in the study * informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * cervical pain related to malignancy * cervical pain due to an accident * inflammatory joint disorders * previous spine surgery * protrusion/prolapse of a spinal disk, spondylolisthesis, with radicular symptomatology * actually doing or planning to do other regular physical exercise during the study with possible positive effects on neck pain - such as swimming, yoga, pilates, tai chi, etc. * use of pain drugs for other diseases (\> 1x/week) * pregnancy * severe chronic or acute disease interfering with therapy attendance * alcohol or substance abuse * participation in another clinical trial in the last 6 months before study entry