Seated reach up and out to the side
The seated reach up and out to the side is a sitting balance exercise where you lift one arm up and out on a diagonal and let your weight travel onto that side of the seat. The buttock on the other side lifts a little, while your body stays upright and your shoulders stay level. It practices the sideways weight shift you make when you reach for something above and beside you. You then repeat it to the other side.
How to do the seated reach up and out to the side
- Sit on a firm chair or bed edge, feet flat and about hip width apart. Shuffle forward a little so you are sitting upright, not leaning back.
- Rest both hands on your thighs and sit tall with your shoulders level.
- Lift one arm and reach up and out to that side on a diagonal, as if for a high shelf just beside you. The other hand stays resting on your thigh.
- As you reach, let your weight move onto the buttock on the reaching side, so the other buttock lifts slightly off the seat. Keep your trunk upright rather than tipping over.
- Hold for a moment, lower the arm and settle back in the middle, then reach with the other arm.
What you should feel
Your weight rolling onto one buttock, and the muscles along the side of your trunk working, mostly on the side that lifts. The reaching shoulder works to hold the arm up.
Common mistakes
- Leaning the whole body sideways instead of shifting your weight and staying upright.
- Hitching the reaching shoulder up toward your ear.
- Pushing down through the resting hand to lift the hip.
- Sitting back against a backrest or wall so your trunk does not have to work.
How often
A usual range is 5 to 10 reaches to each side, holding each for a few seconds, once or twice 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.
- You tip over to the side and cannot get back to the middle without grabbing the seat.
- Sharp pain or a catch in the shoulder of the reaching arm.
From the clinic
The voice guide asks you to keep your shoulders level. In the video the trunk hardly tilts at all: the reach itself pulls the weight across, and the other buttock only comes up a little. Start with a short reach and a small shift. Make both bigger as you feel steadier. The seated hip hike works the lifting side of the same movement at a table.
Choose a seat that stays put, with nothing hard or sharp at your sides, and keep both feet on the floor. Sitting balance tends to give way toward the reaching side, so have someone stand on that side for the first sessions, or every session if you have fallen before. After a stroke, or with any other condition that has left one side weaker, ask your physio before you try this at home.
A sudden loss of balance is different. Call emergency services straight away for any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away: sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, or a sudden severe headache. If one side is already weak or numb from an earlier stroke, new or suddenly worse weakness or numbness is a sign, and every other sign in this list still counts.
Go carefully if the weak arm is the one reaching. A shoulder with little muscle control can be strained if the arm is lifted too high or pulled on, so reach only as high as you can control yourself and keep the movement slow. A helper can support the arm under the elbow and forearm, but should never lift or tug it by the hand, and should not take it above shoulder height unless your physio has shown them how. If that shoulder hurts, or you have been told it has partly slipped out of its socket (subluxation), check with your physio how high you may reach before you start.
Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.
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.
