Neck pain with shortness of breath.. What could this be?

My husband has been having this problem severely for about 2-3 weeks, though he has had minor episodes over the course of about 7 years. He is in the US Military and had been overseas in 2004, when he came back he started having chest pains and shortness of breath. Docs diagnosed him with PTSD and then put him on an anti-depressant medicine. He was not content with that being the cause of his problems, over the years he has stopped taking that medication. Lately his symptoms have seemed to worsen. He is having neck pain that is sore to the touch along with shortness of breath and chest pain. He can turn his neck from side to side, but has a hard time looking up and down without having breathing problems. He has gone to the ER twice. The first doctor just told him it was hyperventilation syndrome. We were definitely not content with that answer. The second doctor was much more sympathetic. He thought something had rotated or sprained or something within his neck that was causing all the breathing problems. So he has seen a series of doctors. We've done a thyroid test that came up with nothing. We've done X-Rays that there is definitely something wrong in his neck. Whether a disk has slipped, something shifted, or a pinched nerve. That dr. wanted to do an MRI. We got that done and when the results came back the nurse told us that it did seem like something is pinched. My husband asked her what we can do to fix this problem and he told her that they will probably just medicate him. That's where I am at a standstill. If there is really something pinched or if they know something is wrong in his neck, how can they just medicate him and expect that to fix it. If anybody has any opinions, they would be much appreciated. Thanks