Back pain at the desk: three exercises for in between
Sitting for hours puts one-sided strain on the spine. These three short exercises work at your desk and release the most common tension in the shoulders and neck.
Anyone who spends most of the day at a desk knows the feeling: by mid-afternoon the neck stiffens, the shoulders creep upwards, the lower back makes itself heard. It is rarely one wrong movement that causes this — it is the same posture held for hours on end.
When we sit, the pelvis tilts backwards, the lumbar spine loses its natural curve, the chest sinks and the head drifts forward. Every centimetre the head sits ahead of the shoulder line multiplies the load the neck and shoulder girdle have to carry. The muscles work against gravity continuously, without ever fully letting go.
The good news: no sportswear required, and no half hour either. What matters is not duration but regularity. Three or four short breaks spread across the day do more than one long session in the evening.
1. Stretch the side of the neck
Sit upright with both feet flat on the floor. Let the right shoulder drop deliberately and tilt your head slowly to the left, as though you wanted to touch your shoulder with your ear. The left hand may help very gently — but do not pull; the weight of the hand is enough.
Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds and keep breathing calmly. You should feel a clear but comfortable stretch along the right side of the neck, never pain. Then change sides. Two rounds per side are plenty.
2. Open the chest
Slide to the front edge of your chair. Bring your hands together behind your back, straighten your arms as far as you can and draw the shoulder blades towards each other. The chest lifts by itself; keep the chin drawn slightly towards the throat.
Hold for five calm breaths. This exercise counteracts the collapsed posture that a screen almost inevitably invites — and it can be done discreetly, even in an open-plan office.
3. Mobilise the spine
Place your hands on your thighs. As you breathe out, slowly round your back: the pelvis tilts backwards, the thoracic spine rounds, the head sinks forward. As you breathe in, reverse the movement — tilt the pelvis forward, lift the breastbone, look straight ahead.
Repeat eight to ten times in the rhythm of your breath, slowly and without chasing an end position. This is not about records in flexibility; it is about giving every segment of the spine some movement.
What makes the exercises work
Exercises are no substitute for changing position. If nothing else is possible: stand up once an hour, even if only to fetch a glass of water. Set your screen so that the top line sits just below eye level — then the head does not have to move forward.
And when you pick up the phone: do not wedge it between shoulder and head. That single habit is behind a surprising share of neck complaints.
When treatment makes sense
Tension that eases again with movement and short breaks is normal. If complaints persist for weeks, radiate into an arm or leg, come with numbness or grow worse at night, they belong in the hands of a doctor.
In the practice we look at how your complaints show up in the interplay of the whole musculoskeletal system — the cause often sits somewhere other than the pain. Dorn therapy works with gentle pressure techniques and active movements, supporting joints and spine in their natural mobility. Do get in touch if you would like to talk your situation through in peace.