The seated trunk rotation stretch turns your upper body to one side while you sit, then uses your hands on the chair back to ease you gently a little further round. You feel it through the middle and upper back and along the side of the ribs. All you need is a sturdy chair with a backrest. Unlike the plain seated trunk rotation, where your arms stay crossed, your hands help you into the last part of the turn.

How to do the seated trunk rotation stretch

Sit upright on a sturdy chair with a backrest, feet flat on the floor about hip width apart and knees facing forward.
Twist gently round to one side, leading with your chest, and let your head come round with it.
Reach your hands to the chair back on that side and hold it lightly.
Use a gentle pull from your hands to ease yourself a little further round, until you feel a stretch through your trunk. Both buttocks stay planted on the seat and your knees stay level.
Hold the stretch for a few seconds, about 5 in the video, then let go and turn back to the middle.
Then turn the other way, and keep swapping sides, as the video shows.

What you should feel

A stretch through the middle and upper back, often along the side of the ribs as well. It should feel firm but comfortable, never like a pinch.

Common mistakes

Yanking on the chair to force the turn. The pull is gentle.
Lifting one buttock off the seat or letting the knees slide round with you.
Slumping as you turn instead of staying tall.
Cranking the head round much further than the chest.

How often

Many programs use 5 to 10 turns to each side, swapping sides each time and holding each turn for about 5 seconds, once or twice a day. Some physios build the hold up to 15 to 30 seconds with fewer turns. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sharp, catching or pinching pain in your ribs or back, or pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading into an arm or leg.
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.

From the clinic

Let the turn come from your trunk first. Your hands only add the last little bit, so a light pull is all you need. If your neck is sore, let your head stop short of your chest. Pick a steady chair with no wheels or swivel. With no help from your hands, the seated trunk rotation works the same turn, and thoracic rotation takes it onto your hands and knees.

If you have low bone density (osteoporosis), ask your physio whether this stretch suits you and how far to turn, because pulling the spine into the end of a twist is often limited. 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.

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.

Seated trunk rotation stretch