OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether wearing a neck brace during a sling exercise program positively affects craniovertebral angle, mechanical properties of neck muscles, and headache in adults with a forward head posture. METHODS: Thirty adults with forward head postures were randomly assigned to an experimental group (sling exercise wearing a neck brace, n = 15) or a control group (sling exercise without a neck brace, n = 15). All participants undertook the sling exercise program (3x/week for 4 weeks). The outcomes were the craniovertebral angle, the mechanical properties of muscles (tone, stiffness, elasticity), and headache. All the outcomes were measured before and after the 4-week training. RESULTS: The experimental group showed a significantly greater magnitude of decreases in mechanical properties of muscle and headache than the control group (frequency of splenius capitis: -3.0 Hz, F[1, 28] 20.733, p < 0.001, n2 0.425; stiffness of splenius capitis: -67.4 N/m, F[1, 28] 9.999, p = 0.004, n2 0.263; decrement of splenius capitis: -0.1 d, F[1, 28] 6.188, p = 0.019, n2 0.181; frequency of upper trapezius: -2.8 Hz, F[1, 28] 8.718, p = 0.006, n2 0.237; decrement of upper trapezius: -0.2 d, F[1, 28] 5.194, p = 0.030, n2 0.156; frequency of sternocleidomastoid: -2.7 Hz, F[1, 28] 8.561, p = 0.007, n2 0.234; stiffness of sternocleidomastoid: -112.8 N/m, F[1, 28] 13.586, p = 0.001, n2 0.327; headache: -4.7 points, F[1, 28] 7.221, p = 0.012, n2 0.205, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Wearing a neck brace while performing sling exercises might provide an effective means of relaxing neck muscles and reducing headaches in adults with forward head posture.

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