Is your desk job making you stiff? A doctor swears by this simple stretch for soothing his achy shoulders

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Is modern life causing havoc for your posture? You’re not alone. Prolonged periods sitting at our desks—or on couches—straining over devices is one of the prime culprits of shoulder pain and slouching.

“We spend much of our day not accessing the full range of motion in our shoulders,” explains physical therapist Dr Robbie Mann from Fyzical.

“For example, most of our daily tasks involve our arms being forward in front of us, such as working on a computer, eating or working out.

“It’s essential to take your shoulders through a full range of motion in all directions, but especially in overhead reaching. Rarely do we fully extend our arms over our heads.”

He recommends doing a simple stretch to reset posture and relieve stiffness and tension in the shoulders.

“I started to notice in myself a slouch posture—especially by the end of the day when I was wrapping up computer work—as well as neck muscle tightness,” says Mann.

“I found that stretching overhead helped to relax my shoulders and it became easier to hold myself in an upright posture.”

Here’s Mann’s simple stretch.

How to do the shoulder stretch

Time: 2min / Reps: 20

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms at your sides.

• Slowly raise your arms overhead until your hands are hovering above the mat behind you, or are resting on the mat if you need the support.

• Try holding for a long, extended stretch of two minutes to help address significant tightness.

• Alternatively, slowly move in and out of this motion for 20 repetitions.

Why the stretch works

“The overhead stretch helps improve posture by reducing the forward shoulder stance many of us get from sitting and typing on computers or devices,” explains Mann.

“And reducing pain in the shoulders and neck from the abnormal stress that prolonged position places on the surrounding muscles and joints.”

Once you get used to the stretch you can progress it. “I started by lying down and just using the weight of my arms to stretch overhead, then I progressed to holding a dumbbell moving overhead,” he says.

“Now I work with a band, pulling it apart with both hands and then I lift both arms overhead as far as what’s comfortable. I now feel more mobility, better strength and have noticed improvements in my resting posture.”

Bonus move: Add strength exercises if you can

He says another way to counteract the damage from sitting is to strengthen the shoulders. “Often, chronic stiffness or tightness is an indicator of weakness,” he explains.

“It’s important to strengthen the muscles surrounding your shoulder blades, and those on the posterior [back] side of your shoulder, to reduce stiffness and improve mobility.

“You can do this with the row exercise. Standing rows both with dumbbells or a resistance band will do wonders for resetting your posture. Just make sure you squeeze your shoulder blades together when you row the weights or band.”