Upper back and chest · Standing or Seated
Overhead side reach
Reaching one arm up and over to lengthen the side of the body, standing by your desk or sitting tall.
- Hold 15 to 30 s each side
- Held stretch
How to do it
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, or sit tall with both feet flat.
- Raise your right arm overhead and let the left arm hang by your side.
- Lean gently to the left, reaching up and over rather than down.
- Hold, come back to upright slowly and repeat on the other side.
How long
Hold for 10 to 20 seconds on each side. The NHS sideways bend uses short 2-second holds, three each side.
What you should feel
A stretch along the side of the body, from the hip to the armpit.
Stop if…
- Pain, numbness, tingling or pins and needles, or dizziness: stop and do not push through it.
- Pain in the lower back as you lean.
Variations
- Seated. Sit tall with both sitting bones on the chair and reach up and over the same way.
- Without the arm. Slide one hand down the side of the leg instead, as in the NHS sideways bend.
Common mistakes
- Leaning forward or back instead of sideways.
- Lifting a foot or a hip.
- Collapsing the side you lean toward.
Use it in a routine
The stretch routine builder can play this with other upper back and chest stretches, with a countdown for each side and a chime at every change. The stretch break timer adds stretches like it to a break after each work interval.
Sources
Written from published guidance by health services, physiotherapy and ergonomics bodies. Last reviewed .
- Flexibility exercises, NHS (UK)
- Exercises for office workers (PDF), West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Standing stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic (general stretching guidance)
- Desk-based exercises, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (UK) (general stretching guidance)
- Stretching at the workstation (PDF), New Mexico State University Environmental Health and Safety (general stretching guidance)