Lower back · Seated or Standing
Seated twist
Turning the upper body while the hips stay still, to move the spine after long periods of sitting. The physiotherapists’ "chair twist".
- Hold 15 to 30 s each side
- Held stretch
How to do it
- Sit slightly forward in your chair with both feet flat on the floor and your knees pointing forward.
- Turn your head and upper body to the right.
- Rest your left hand on the outside of your right knee and your right hand on the chair back or seat.
- Grow tall through the top of your head and turn only as far as is easy. Hold, return to the middle slowly and repeat to the left.
How long
Hold for about 20 seconds and repeat three times each side (CSP). The NHS upper-body twist holds for 5 seconds, five times each side.
What you should feel
A gentle turning stretch through the middle and lower back.
Stop if…
- Pain, numbness, tingling or pins and needles, or dizziness: stop and do not push through it.
- Pain in the back that gets sharper as you turn.
Variations
- Arms crossed. Cross your arms to touch the opposite shoulders and turn, as in the NHS version.
- Standing. Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms crossed over the chest, and turn from the waist with the hips facing forward.
Common mistakes
- Pulling hard on the knee or chair to force the turn.
- Letting the knees swing with you.
- Slumping as you turn.
Use it in a routine
The stretch routine builder can play this with other lower back 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.
It is part of these ready-made routines: Lower back and hips, 5 minutes and Standing break, 5 minutes.
Sources
Written from published guidance by health services, physiotherapy and ergonomics bodies. Last reviewed .
- Desk-based exercises, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (UK)
- Sitting exercises, NHS (UK)
- Exercises for office workers (PDF), West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Standing stretches for the workplace (video), Mayo Clinic
- Stretching at the workstation (PDF), New Mexico State University Environmental Health and Safety (general stretching guidance)