The lying pectoral stretch opens the front of your chest and shoulders (pectoralis major and minor). You lie on your back with your chin gently tucked, take both arms out to the sides to about shoulder height with the palms facing up, and rest there. The weight of your arms does the stretching, so there is nothing to push or pull.

How to do the pectoral stretch

Lie on your back on a bed or a mat on the floor, with room at each side for your arms to rest flat. Keep your legs straight and your arms resting by your sides. Use a small pillow under your head if you need one.
Tuck your chin in gently and let your shoulders settle back and flat against the bed.
Slowly take both arms out to the sides, keeping your elbows straight and turning your palms to face the ceiling.
Stop at about shoulder height, or lower if you feel a strong stretch sooner. Let your arms relax there, resting on the bed or floor, and breathe slowly while you hold.
Bring your arms back down to your sides slowly and rest before the next one.

What you should feel

A gentle stretch across the front of your chest and the front of both shoulders, sometimes running into the upper arms.

Common mistakes

Arching your lower back off the bed as your arms go out.
Taking your arms higher than shoulder height. Stay at or below it.
Letting your arms hang off the edge of a narrow bed, which pulls the shoulders further back than the stretch needs.
Holding your arms stiffly instead of letting them relax.
Poking your chin up toward the ceiling. Keep it gently tucked.

How often

Many programs use 2 to 4 holds of 20 to 30 seconds, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp pain, pinch or catch at the front of your shoulder, or the shoulder feels as if it might slip.
Your hand or fingers start to tingle, go numb or feel heavy while your arms are out to the sides.
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.
The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.

From the clinic

The voice guide with this video describes a different set-up: pulling the shoulders back flat on the bed, then walking the fingers down the legs to draw the shoulders down. The video shows the arms going out to the sides with the palms up, and this page follows the video. That shoulder set-up from the voice guide is still a good way to start. If the stretch feels too strong, keep your arms lower and closer to your sides.

For a standing version, one side at a time, see the pec stretch. The chest opener stretch works the same area with your hands linked behind your back. To get up afterward, bend your knees and roll onto your side first.

With the arms out to the side and the palms turned up, the shoulder sits close to the position in which it most often dislocates. If your shoulder has dislocated before or feels loose, ask your physio before you do this stretch. 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.

The nerves to the arm pass close to the chest muscles on their way from the neck, so if your hand starts to tingle, bring your arms in a little until it settles. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

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.

Pectoral stretch