## 1 Introduction  
The number of consultations in rehabilitation settings for chronic musculoskeletal disorders is rising [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the population over 60 years of age is expected to triple by 2050, from 600 million to 2 billion [2]. As a result, common chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as neck pain are likely to affect a growing number of people, causing pain, disability, and physical function limitations for longer periods of their lifetimes [2]. Neck pain is a frequent cause for seeking healthcare attention, with individuals often seeking medical help in primary care, neurology, neurosurgery and physiotherapy settings [3; 4]. The global prevalence of neck pain is estimated at 2696 cases per 100,000 population, with an incidence of 579 individuals per 100,000 population. Unfortunately, neck pain frequently becomes a chronic condition, leading to prolonged disability. Approximately 267.4 individuals per 100,000 population live with neck disability, suggesting that about 50% of those experiencing neck pain are at risk of developing chronicity and disability related to this issue [5]. In Spain, the prevalence of neck pain was estimated to be 4200 and 4500 cases per 1000,000 population, with an incidence of 800-850 cases per 100,000 population [6]. The prevalence of neck pain is higher in women than in men [7]. Additionally, the occurrence of neck pain tends to increase with age, reaching a peak between the ages of 30 and 45 [8]. Moreover, women tend to experience a greater number of years lived with disability attributed to neck pain when compared to men [5]. Neck pain is clinically characterized as the sensation of discomfort or tenderness localized between the upper nuchal line and the spinous process of the first thoracic verteba [9]. Furthermore, this discomfort may manifest as pain radiating to adjacent regions, encompassing the head, trunk, and upper extremities [9]. Many times, patients experience mild neck disability with recurrent episodes [10]. The term \"low neck disability\" is used to describe a condition where individuals face limitations or restrictions in their physical activities due to neck pain, but it is not severe enough to completely impede their ability to perform daily tasks [11; 12]. However, despite the recurrent nature of these episodes and their tendency to persist over time, which could precede chronic pain, patients often refrain from seeking healthcare due to the perceived non-seriousness of the pain [13]. Patients with low neck disability usually have multifactorial clinical conditions. These include mild neck pain, weak neck muscles, limited neck movement, and self-reported disability, typically scoring between 5 and 14 on the Neck Disability Index (NDI) questionnaire [14; 15; 16; 17]. The alteration of the activity of the masticatory musculature [18] and the presence of vision alterations are other common characteristics that some patients describe, as well [19]. Many neck disorders, such as chronic neck pain, cervicogenic headache, and cervicogenic dizziness, are also associated with muscle weakness [14]. Muscle weakness is considered one of the primary risk factors for neck pain and has been linked to the onset and persistence of pain [20; 21; 22; 23]. In patients with neck pain, there is reduced endurance in the neck flexor and extensor muscles and increased tone in superficial muscles [24; 25]. Prolonged reduction in neck muscle endurance may lead to a decrease in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of these muscles [26]. Several studies have found reduced CSA in muscles such as multifidus, semispinalis, and longus coli in individuals with chronic neck pain [17; 27; 28]. In the early stages of neck pain, patients may experience slight disruptions in their daily activities [29; 30]. [PERSON] et al. [31] found that individuals with low neck pain experienced challenges while raising their shoulder due to fatigue in the neck muscles compared with healthy subjects.