Back Feel Stiff
If your back and shoulders feel stiff from sitting for a long time, don’t stand up. Let’s fix that stiffness right here.
You should start to feel it ease up in just a few minutes.
Start With Gentle Shoulder Rolls
Start seated at the edge of a chair with some gentle shoulder rolls.
Roll your shoulders back and start to feel that tension melt away.
Now put your hands behind your ears. Think about opening up your elbows and arching your back.
Bring your elbows together into a slight round of your back and then open up into that arch.
We tend to spend a lot of our time in this forward hunch position. This exercise helps to open everything up.
You’ll feel a stretch through the front of your chest muscles as you drive your elbows back and get a nice arch in your back.
Bring your arms down and let those shoulders relax. Think about keeping your shoulders down away from your ears.
Strengthen The Upper Back Muscles
Reach out front with your palms facing each other and pull your elbows back.
This exercise works the upper back muscles that help support you in standing, especially standing up tall, and prevent your back from getting tired.
When your back starts to get tired, that’s when you start to move into that hunched position.
Gentle movements like this are exactly what your joints need.
Stretch The Sides Of Your Torso
Bring one hand up near your ear.
To make it harder, you can bring it overhead. Move to the side and reach further for a deeper stretch depending on your shoulder mobility.
Use the sides of your core to pull yourself back into straight.
Many times when you’re sitting, you’re looking forward. The muscles on the sides of your torso don’t get stretched very often and can become tight.
Repeat on the other side.
Your core muscles help support the spine and help keep your body in a better position while sitting and standing.
Improve Shoulder Mobility With Arm Circles
Take your arms out straight.
If this isn’t comfortable, drop your arms down lower.
Move into a gentle arm circle.
Think of this as putting oil on your shoulder joints and getting good movement through them.
If needed, place your hands on your shoulders and simply move your elbows.
This can be helpful if you have limited shoulder mobility or shoulder strength.
You’ll feel the muscles around your shoulders start to activate while bringing good blood flow to the joint.
Activate Your Posture Muscles
Take a few deep breaths.
Breathing can be a great way to activate different muscles and bring attention to your posture.
Bring your elbows into a bent position with palms facing each other.
Keep your elbows close and open your palms so they face in front of you.
Bring them back in and open again.
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You should feel the muscles around your shoulder blades start to activate.
Think about pinching your shoulder blades together while keeping your shoulders down away from your ears.
Using these shoulder blade muscles helps support the shoulder, prevent stiffness, and improve posture.
We’re trying to get out of that rounded forward position and give the body a break from it.
Add Gentle Rotation For A Stiff Back
Reach at a diagonal.
We’re not doing a full twist.
Reach just enough so that when you turn your head slightly, you can still see your hand.
This movement helps bring a little rotation through the spine and upper body.
When you’re sitting, you’re likely doing something that doesn’t require much movement of your torso.
Bringing in gentle rotation can be helpful, especially if your back tightens when you try to rotate or move side to side.
Move as slowly as you need to.
Loosen Up A Stiff Neck
Your neck plays a huge role in how your shoulders and back feel.
Move into a gentle neck roll.
You may also find yourself doing a few shoulder rolls to reset your posture.
Move your head in a gentle circle.
If you have limited neck range of motion, move only in a range that feels good.
We’re not trying to force anything.
This can feel especially good if you spend time looking up at a screen, looking down at a screen, or holding your head in a static position.
Even if you hear crackles or pops, noises can be okay as long as they are not associated with pain.
Switch directions and move the other way.
You may notice that your neck begins to loosen up and allows a bigger range of motion.
Finish With Neck Flexion And Extension
Look up as far as feels comfortable.
Then look down.
Feel a stretch through the front of your neck as you look up and through the back of your neck as you look down.
Easing back stiffness, shoulder stiffness, and neck stiffness when sitting is important because if you don’t, it can turn into loss of range of motion, loss of strength, and increased stiffness that can eventually turn into pain.
Simple Movements For Better Mobility
If you find yourself starting to get stiff while sitting, bring in one or three of these exercises or simply run through this routine.
The more you can do to prevent stiffness before it gets worse, the better your joints are going to feel.
These simple movements can make a big difference in how your body feels and help improve mobility, posture, and comfort throughout the day.
