The neck and upper back stretch is a seated forward curl. You let your chin drop to your chest, then keep curling so your head hangs forward and your upper back rounds (neck and upper thoracic flexion). Physios often give it for stiffness at the back of the neck and between the shoulder blades.

How to do the neck and upper back stretch

Sit on a steady chair with your feet flat, knees about hip width apart and hands resting on your thighs.
Slowly let your chin drop toward your chest.
Keep going and let the weight of your head draw you down, so your upper back rounds bit by bit and your hands slide a little way along your thighs.
Stop when your head hangs down in front of your chest and your upper back is rounded, or earlier if the stretch already feels strong. Breathe slowly while you hold.
To come back, uncurl your upper back first and lift your head last, until you are sitting tall again.

What you should feel

A stretch that runs down the back of your neck and spreads out between your shoulder blades.

Common mistakes

Dropping down fast. Curl slowly so you can stop at any point.
Pressing your head down with your hands. The weight of your head does the work.
Bending only at the hips with a flat back, which takes the stretch out of the upper back.
Flicking the head up first on the way back instead of lifting it last.

How often

Many programs hold the curl for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat it 2 to 4 times, once or a few times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

You feel dizzy, faint or unsteady. Stop and get medical advice the same day. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still, or you cannot stand or walk steadily, call emergency services.
Things look double, your vision suddenly blurs or goes, your speech slurs or becomes muddled, swallowing becomes hard, your face or lips go numb, one side of your face droops or one side of your body goes weak or numb, you suddenly become so dizzy or unsteady that you fall or cannot stand or walk, your legs suddenly give way but you do not black out (a drop attack), or you get a sudden severe headache. Stop and call emergency services, even if it goes away.
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.
Pain, tingling or numbness starts to spread down into your arm or hand.
The curl gives you a sharp pain in your neck or back instead of a stretch.

From the clinic

You are really doing two stretches in one movement. The chin drop works the back of the neck, and the curl takes the stretch on down between the shoulder blades. Uncurl slowly, head last, especially if you tend to feel light-headed when you change position. Use a chair that cannot roll or tip, and sit well back on the seat. The upper back stretch is a similar seated option with the hands clasped, and the chin tuck works the neck in a small, upright range.

With osteoporosis or a past fracture in the spine, check with your physio before you curl forward like this, as rounding the spine forward is often limited. The same applies after neck or back surgery.

If your neck pain started after a recent car accident or fall, get it checked by a doctor or physio before you begin. Keep still and call emergency services if the pain came straight after a high-speed crash, a car that rolled over, being thrown from a vehicle, being hit by a vehicle while walking or cycling, a motorbike or quad bike accident, a horse riding accident, a diving injury or a fall from a height or down several stairs, or if you have numbness, tingling or weakness in an arm or leg. If you hit your head and were knocked out, cannot remember what happened, have had a headache ever since, are being sick, or take medicine that thins your blood other than aspirin on its own, go to an emergency department, and do not drive yourself.

If you have a condition that stiffens the spine, such as ankylosing spondylitis, new neck pain after even a minor fall, knock or jolt is an emergency: keep still and call emergency services if it started straight after the injury, or go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, if it started later. See a doctor the same day, before any exercise, if you are 65 or over, have low bone density (osteoporosis) or have taken steroid tablets for a long time, if your neck pain is severe, if you cannot turn your head halfway toward each shoulder, or if it hurts when you press on the bony middle of the back of your neck. Having none of these does not rule out an injury.

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.

Neck and upper back stretch