The chair thoracic stretch rounds your upper back while you sit. With your fingers interlaced and your arms reaching straight out at shoulder height, you push your hands forward, let the area between your shoulder blades curve backward and drop your chin toward your chest. You feel it across the upper back, between and around the shoulder blades. All you need is a steady chair.

How to do the chair thoracic stretch

Sit upright on a steady chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting on your thighs.
Raise both arms straight out in front of you to shoulder height and lace your fingers together.
Reach your hands away from you while you curve your upper back the opposite way, so the area between your shoulder blades moves back and the shoulder blades spread apart.
Let your chin sink gently toward your chest as your back rounds, with your bottom staying still on the seat.
Hold briefly while you breathe, then uncurl slowly, bringing your head up last, and lower your hands to your thighs.

What you should feel

A stretch spreading across the top of your back and between your shoulder blades, sometimes into the back of your neck. It should feel like a good stretch, not pain.

Common mistakes

Tipping forward from the hips instead of rounding the upper back.
Letting the hands sink toward your lap as the stretch goes on.
Pulling your head down hard or bobbing it.
Hunching your shoulders up toward your ears.

How often

The voice guide says to hold briefly. Many programs start with holds of about 5 to 10 seconds, repeated 3 to 5 times, and build toward 20 to 30 seconds, once or a few times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

You feel dizzy or lightheaded as you bend forward or sit back up. Stop, stay seated and let it pass. If it keeps happening, get medical advice the same day before you try again, and call emergency services if it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
An electric shock feeling runs down your back or into your arms or legs as your head bends forward. Stop and get medical advice the same day.
Sharp pain in your neck or upper back instead of a stretch, or pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down your arm or into your hand.
Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.

From the clinic

The voice guide mentions sitting on a mat, but the video shows a chair, so this page follows the video. When it says to stretch backward, it means the middle of your upper back pushes back as your hands reach forward. Picture your upper back making a C shape. Two close relatives are the rhomboid stretch, done standing, and the upper back stretch, where your clasped hands reach down between your knees.

Use a solid chair that cannot roll, and sit well back so it stays level when you lean. If you tend to feel lightheaded when you change position, take extra time as you sit back up.

With low bone density (osteoporosis), ask your physio before you start, because physios often limit how far and how often you round the spine forward. If you have had a fracture in your spine, check with your physio before you begin. If you have had surgery on your spine, chest or heart in recent months, get the go-ahead from your surgical team or physio first. After neck surgery or a broken bone in the neck, check with your surgeon or physio before you start.

After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. Reaching both arms forward to shoulder height is often one of the later movements to be cleared.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Chair thoracic stretch