Stretches to Combat Regular Sitting

A primary cause of upper back and shoulder pain in the absence of overt injury is regular sitting, particularly when our shoulders are rounded forward as we work with our hands in front of us.

I do the stretch shown above multiple times daily to combat degenerative changes that come with regular sitting

I follow this up with the following variation that creates a deeper stretch through the spine and shoulders:

Doing both of these stretches even once daily will improve posture and decrease our risk of developing common physical issues like shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder, poor posture, and headaches related to tight muscles at the base of the skull.

As with most things in life, the proof is in the doing. For those who aren't already doing these stretches daily, I encourage committing to including one or both in a daily stretching routine for just 30 days and observing how the spine and shoulders feel.