A five-minute desk routine for a stiff neck

Most neck pain from desk work is not caused by one bad position. It is caused by holding any position for too long. The best posture, as the saying goes, is the next one. These three movements take five minutes and are designed to be done at your desk, in work clothes, without anyone noticing much.

Do them twice a day — mid-morning and mid-afternoon are ideal — and stop any movement that sharpens your pain rather than stretching it.

Chin tucks

Sit tall, eyes level. Slide your chin straight back, as if making a double chin, without tipping your head down. Hold for five seconds and release. Do ten.

This wakes up the deep muscles at the front of the neck that hold your head over your shoulders. They switch off when your head drifts forward towards the screen, and the muscles at the back of the neck work overtime to compensate.

Seated rotation

Sit towards the front of your chair with your feet flat. Cross your arms over your chest, then turn your upper body to the right as far as is comfortable, leading with your breastbone rather than your head. Breathe out at the end of the turn. Return to the middle and repeat to the left. Five each way.

Your mid-back is meant to do most of the turning. When it stiffens, your neck takes over — and complains about it.

Shoulder blade squeeze

Let your arms hang. Draw your shoulder blades gently back and down, as if tucking them into your back pockets, hold for five seconds and release. Do ten. Keep your neck long and your chin level throughout.

Change the desk, too

Exercises help, but they cannot out-train eight hours of looking down at a laptop. Raise the screen so the top third is at eye level, bring the keyboard close enough that your elbows rest by your sides, and set a reminder to stand up once an hour.

If your neck is still aching after two weeks of this, or you have pins and needles into your arm, book a first visit and we will find out why.