Stretches for People Who Sit All Day: A 10-Minute Routine

Sitting for eight hours does something specific to the body. The hip flexors shorten, the chest tightens, the upper back rounds forward and the neck compensates by pushing the head out over the desk. By six in the evening it shows up as a stiff neck and an ache between the shoulder blades.

This ten-minute routine targets exactly those areas. You can do it at the end of the day, or split it into pieces and do it between tasks.

Stretch to the point of mild tension, never pain. If you have an existing back, neck or joint problem, check with a physiotherapist or doctor first — some of these are not appropriate for every condition.

Neck and upper back — 3 minutes

Neck side stretch

Sit or stand tall. Drop your right ear towards your right shoulder without lifting the shoulder. For a little more, let your right hand rest on the side of your head — no pulling. Hold 30 seconds each side.

Chin tucks

Look straight ahead and draw your chin gently backwards, as though making a double chin. You should feel a stretch at the base of the skull. Hold 5 seconds, repeat 10 times. This one directly counteracts the forward head position of desk work.

Upper back rounding

Interlace your fingers, push your hands forwards and round your upper back, letting the shoulder blades spread apart. Hold 30 seconds.

Chest and shoulders — 2 minutes

Doorway chest stretch

Place a forearm against a door frame with the elbow at roughly shoulder height. Step gently forward until you feel a stretch across the front of the chest. Hold 30 seconds each side.

This is the counterweight to hours spent reaching forward to a keyboard, and it is the one most people feel immediately.

Shoulder rolls

Roll the shoulders backwards in large slow circles, 10 times, then forwards 10 times.

Hips — 3 minutes

Kneeling hip flexor stretch

Kneel on one knee with the other foot flat in front, as though proposing. Tuck your tailbone under and shift your weight forward slightly. You should feel the front of the hip on the kneeling side. Hold 45 seconds each side.

Put a cushion under the knee. Of everything on this list, this is the stretch that addresses the most direct consequence of sitting.

Seated figure four

Sitting in a chair, rest your right ankle on your left knee and let the right knee fall open. Lean forward with a straight back. Hold 30 seconds each side.

Lower back and legs — 2 minutes

Standing forward fold

Feet hip width apart, knees soft, hinge at the hips and let your upper body hang. Do not force it — let gravity do the work. Hold 30 seconds, then roll up slowly.

Standing quad stretch

Hold something for balance, grab one ankle and draw the heel towards your backside, keeping the knees close together. Hold 30 seconds each side.

Cat-cow, seated or on the floor

Alternate between arching and rounding the spine, moving with your breath. 10 slow rounds.

The thing that helps more than stretching

Stretching at the end of the day is treatment. Moving during the day is prevention, and prevention works better.

Set a reminder to stand up every 45 minutes or so. You do not need a routine at each break — standing, walking to the window and rolling your shoulders is enough. The problem is not really sitting; it is sitting still, in one position, for hours.

Small setup changes worth making

Screen at eye level. The top of the monitor roughly level with your eyes. A stack of books works perfectly well as a stand.
Elbows at about 90 degrees when typing, with the shoulders relaxed rather than hunched.
Feet flat on the floor. If they dangle, use a box or a stack of paper as a footrest.
Laptop plus separate keyboard. A laptop alone forces you to choose between a good screen height and a good hand position. A cheap external keyboard solves it.
Move the bin and printer further away, so ordinary tasks make you stand up.

Consistency over intensity

Ten minutes done most days will help far more than a long session once a fortnight. Attach it to something you already do — the end of the working day, or while the kettle boils — and it becomes automatic within a couple of weeks.

If pain persists despite all of this, particularly if it travels down an arm or leg, that is worth having looked at properly rather than stretching around.

Where do you carry desk tension: neck, shoulders, or lower back?