Press

Article written by Well + Good.

“Whether [you’re working] remote or in-office, our bodies become vulnerable and oftentimes lead to poor posture,” says Jorden Gold, founder of Stretch Zone. “It’s so important to focus on stretching these upper extremities, not just the lower back and hip flexors that frequently call our attention.”

After you’ve rolled out your glutes and hammies, give your other muscles a break, too. Below are six other muscles to stretch for unexpected relief.

Feeling stiff? Here are 6 other muscle groups to stretch that feel surprisingly great

1. Your neck muscles

Gold says that, given the amount of time many of us spend sedentary straining over our laptops, our necks tend to get stressed in odd ways, leaving our muscles cramped and knotted. One way to loosen up your neck is through what he calls a “scalene stretch,” which can be done in 15-30 second intervals.

“In order to relax your neck muscles, pull your head and neck to the opposite side of the pain-point, pulling your ear all the way down to your shoulder,” Gold says. “This is an easy-to-perform stretch that can be performed from just about anywhere and will help relax your neck muscles.” 

That’s not the only way to find relief in your neck. Find more simple neck stretches here.

2. Your chest and shoulders

Gold says there’s more to working out your chest and shoulders than a bench press.

“Pec stretches are aplenty, ranging from an elbow-to-elbow grip behind the back, or clasping your hands behind your computer chair,”  Gold says. If you want to get those tough-to-reach anterior deltoids—your shoulder muscles—Gold recommends a raised backwards clasp. “Clasp your hands behind your lower back keeping your arms straight and raising them as much as possible while maintaining an upright posture.” Hold for 15-30 seconds before releasing.   

3. Your lats

Sitting all day in a desk chair can make our lats (or latissimus dorsi, if you’re feeling fancy) get tight. These are the large, v-shaped muscles in our mid-back area that help stabilize our spine.

To loosen your lats, Gold suggests a riff on the classic Child’s Pose from yoga. It doesn’t even have to be face-down on a yoga mat: “Even standing up from your work-station and using the computer chair as support when stretching [forward] will help to relieve tension in your lats.”

4. Your thumb muscles

TikTok, Instagram, Twitter—with so many social media platforms, it’s hard to stop the scroll. Give stiff thumbs a break with a simple stretch developed by Danielle Weis, PT, physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist at Spring Forward Physical Therapy.

“All of the many devices at our literal fingertips are definitely predisposing young people to an increased risk for overuse or ‘repetitive strain’ injuries and future arthritis,” Weis previously told Well+Good. “The amount of time spent with the hands and wrists in angled, arched, or curled positions create a perfect storm for pain and overuse injuries.”

To read the remaining of the article click here.