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Nine stretches to keep your spine moving

Each figure moves through the stretch so you can see the shape before you try it. The red glow marks the muscle being stretched, and the ring fills while you hold. Below it, complete directions: setup, the movement, how much, what you should feel, and when to stop. Ten minutes covers all nine.

Before you startStretching is maintenance, not treatment. Move into each position slowly, breathe, and hold at the point of a comfortable stretch, never at pain. Stop and seek care if any movement causes sharp pain, numbness, tingling, or pain that travels into an arm or leg. If you are pregnant, recovering from surgery, or have osteoporosis or a recent injury, ask your practitioner which of these are right for you.
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Neck

Chin tuck

Resets the head over the shoulders and strengthens the deep neck flexors that give out after hours at a screen. The single most useful desk exercise.

How to do it

  1. Sit or stand tall with your shoulders relaxed and your gaze level. Do not look down.
  2. Keeping your eyes on the horizon, glide your chin straight back, as if making a double chin. The head moves back, not down.
  3. Hold for 5 seconds. You should feel a stretch at the base of the skull and gentle work at the front of the neck.
  4. Release slowly to neutral.
How much10 repetitions, 2 to 3 times a day. Do a set every hour you spend at a desk.
You should feelA mild stretch at the back of the upper neck and light effort at the front of the throat.
Stop ifSharp pain, dizziness, or pain radiating into the arm. Skip it in the first days after a whiplash injury unless your practitioner clears it.
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Neck and shoulders

Upper trapezius stretch

Releases the muscle that runs from the side of the neck to the top of the shoulder, the one that bunches up when you are stressed or carry a bag on one side.

How to do it

  1. Sit tall. Hold the edge of the chair with your right hand to anchor the right shoulder down.
  2. Tilt your left ear toward your left shoulder. Do not rotate or look down; keep your nose pointing forward.
  3. Rest your left hand lightly on the right side of your head. Let the weight of the hand add a gentle stretch; do not pull.
  4. Breathe slowly for 20 to 30 seconds, then return to center and switch sides.
How much2 to 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each side, once or twice a day.
You should feelA stretch along the side of the neck and into the top of the shoulder.
Stop ifPulling hard with the hand, or any tingling into the arm or hand. If one side is much tighter than the other, stretch both anyway.
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Shoulders and upper back

Doorway chest stretch

Opens the chest and the front of the shoulders, which shorten with every hour of rounded sitting. Pairs with the thoracic extension below.

How to do it

  1. Stand in a doorway. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and place your forearms on the frame, elbows just below shoulder height.
  2. Step one foot forward and shift your weight gently forward until you feel a stretch across the chest and the front of the shoulders.
  3. Keep your ribs down and your chin tucked; do not let the lower back arch to fake the stretch.
  4. Hold 20 to 30 seconds, breathing normally. Step back to release.
How much2 to 3 holds, daily. Try elbows slightly lower and slightly higher to reach different fibers.
You should feelA broad stretch across the chest and front of the shoulders.
Stop ifPinching at the front of the shoulder joint, or numbness in the hands. If either happens, lower the elbows or reduce the lean.
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Mid back

Thoracic extension over a chair

The mid back stiffens from sitting, and the neck and lower back pay for it. This restores the backward bend that the thoracic spine loses first.

How to do it

  1. Sit in a chair with a back that reaches your shoulder blades. Scoot so the top of the chair back sits at the level of your mid back.
  2. Interlace your fingers behind your head and support it. Keep your elbows wide.
  3. Lean back over the chair edge, letting the upper back arch while the lower back stays still against the seat. The head goes with the chest; do not whip it back.
  4. Hold 3 to 5 seconds, return to upright, and shift slightly up or down to work the next segment.
How much8 to 10 repetitions, 1 to 2 times a day. A foam roller on the floor works the same way.
You should feelA stretch and a firm pressure in the mid back between the shoulder blades.
Stop ifArching from the lower back, or any dizziness. Not for the days after a rib injury.
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Spine, all of it

Cat-cow

Moves every segment of the spine through flexion and extension without load. The warm-up most chiropractors would prescribe before anything else.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and knees: wrists under shoulders, knees under hips, spine neutral.
  2. Exhale and round the spine toward the ceiling, tucking the tailbone and letting the head hang. This is the cat.
  3. Inhale and let the belly drop, lifting the tailbone and the chest, gaze slightly forward. This is the cow.
  4. Move slowly between the two, taking about 3 seconds each way, and let the movement travel segment by segment rather than hinging at one spot.
How much10 to 15 slow cycles, daily, and before any workout.
You should feelGentle movement through the whole spine with no sharp points.
Stop ifDropping the lower back into a deep arch, or pain at one specific spot. If wrists hurt, make fists or use forearms.
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Lower back and hamstrings

Hamstring hinge

Tight hamstrings pull the pelvis under and flatten the lower back. This stretches them while teaching the hip hinge that protects the spine when you bend.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet hip-width apart and a soft bend in the knees.
  2. Push your hips straight back and hinge forward from the hip, keeping the spine long. Imagine closing a door behind you with your hips.
  3. Lower until you feel the stretch in the back of the thighs, hands sliding down the thighs or hanging. Stop before the lower back rounds.
  4. Hold 20 to 30 seconds, then drive the hips forward to stand, squeezing the glutes.
How much3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds, daily. On tight days, do it with one foot on a low step instead.
You should feelA stretch down the back of the thighs, and a little in the calves.
Stop ifRounding the lower back to go deeper, or pain in the back rather than the hamstrings. If pain shoots down a leg, stop and tell your practitioner.
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Hips and lower back

Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch

Sitting shortens the hip flexors, which then tug the lower back into an arch when you stand. This lengthens them. People with desk jobs feel it immediately.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on one knee with the other foot flat in front, both knees at about 90 degrees. Put a cushion under the back knee.
  2. Tuck your tailbone under and squeeze the glute on the kneeling side. This step is what makes the stretch work.
  3. Keeping the torso tall and the tailbone tucked, shift your weight gently forward until you feel the stretch in the front of the kneeling hip and thigh.
  4. Hold 20 to 30 seconds. Switch sides.
How much2 to 3 holds each side, daily.
You should feelA stretch at the front of the hip and down the thigh of the kneeling leg.
Stop ifArching the lower back to lean further, which turns it into a back bend. Keep the tuck.
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Lower back

Knee-to-chest

Gently flexes the lower back and opens the lumbar joints and the glutes. A safe first stretch in an acute back episode, and a good one to end the day with.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back on the floor with both knees bent and feet flat.
  2. Bring one knee toward your chest and hold it with both hands behind the thigh or on the shin.
  3. Draw it in until you feel a gentle stretch in the lower back and buttock. Keep the other foot on the floor and the head relaxed.
  4. Hold 20 to 30 seconds, lower slowly, and switch. Then do both knees together.
How much2 to 3 holds each side plus 2 with both knees, daily or whenever the back feels tight.
You should feelA mild stretch across the lower back and the buttock of the lifted leg.
Stop ifPain down the leg, or any sharp pain in the back. If the back is in spasm, keep the pull very light.
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Spine and ribs

Standing side bend

Stretches the side of the trunk, the muscles between the ribs and the quadratus lumborum, a deep lower back muscle that is often the real culprit in one-sided back pain.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, feet hip-width apart, and reach one arm overhead.
  2. Bend sideways away from the raised arm, reaching up and over. Keep both feet planted and the hips level; do not let the hips swing out to the side.
  3. Keep the chest facing forward, not twisting toward the floor.
  4. Hold 15 to 20 seconds, breathe into the stretched side, return to center and switch.
How much2 to 3 holds each side, daily.
You should feelA long stretch from the hip up the side of the ribs to the armpit.
Stop ifLeaning forward or twisting to go deeper. Keep it in one plane.
A simple daily routineMorning: cat-cow, chin tucks, standing side bends. At your desk, every hour: chin tucks and the upper trapezius stretch. Evening: doorway chest stretch, thoracic extension, hamstring hinge, hip flexor stretch, knee-to-chest. Total time: about ten minutes. Consistency beats intensity.

Stretches help. An examination tells you which ones you actually need.

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