The seated trunk rotation is a gentle twist for the middle and upper back, done on a chair with your arms crossed over your chest. You turn your upper body slowly to one side, pause, then turn to the other, while your hips and knees keep facing forward. All you need is a sturdy chair, which makes it easy to fit into a break from desk work. A similar turn appears in exercise programs for conditions that stiffen the spine, such as ankylosing spondylitis.

How to do the seated trunk rotation

Sit upright on a firm chair with your feet flat on the floor about hip width apart and your knees pointing straight ahead.
Cross your arms so that each hand rests on the opposite shoulder.
Turn your upper body slowly to one side, leading with your chest and shoulders. Your head turns with your chest, so your eyes end up looking past that shoulder.
Keep both hips and knees facing forward and stay tall, without leaning back or sideways. Stop where you feel a comfortable stretch.
Pause for a breath, turn back to the middle, then repeat to the other side.

What you should feel

A turning stretch through your middle and upper back, sometimes felt along the side of your ribs. Your lower back and neck should stay comfortable.

Common mistakes

Letting the knees swing to one side, so the hips turn instead of the spine.
Turning the head much further than the chest. The neck then does most of the work.
Slumping or leaning back as you turn. Sit tall the whole way round.
Swinging into the turn for extra range instead of turning slowly and stopping in control.

How often

Many programs use 5 to 10 slow turns to each side, pausing for a breath or two at the end of each turn, once or several times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp or catching pain in your back or ribs as you turn, or pain, numbness or tingling 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

Copy the pace in the video: a smooth, steady turn and a short pause at each side. A small turn done well still moves your upper back. You gain nothing by chasing the last bit of range. If your neck is sore, let your head turn only as far as feels easy, even if your chest goes a little further. Crossing the arms keeps them out of the way, so the turn has to come from your trunk.

With low bone density (osteoporosis) or a past fracture in your spine or ribs, ask your physio how far to turn before you start, as twisting to the very end of the range is often limited. 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. For more turning work, try thoracic rotation on your knees or the lying upper body rotation on your back. To bend the same part of the spine backward from a chair, see the seated thoracic extension.

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.

Seated trunk rotation