The suboccipital stretch targets the small muscles where the top of your neck meets the base of your skull (suboccipital muscles). Sitting in a chair, you tuck your chin first, then use one hand on your head to ease it gently forward and down. Physios often give it for stiffness at the top of the neck, and to people who spend hours at a screen with the head pushed forward.

How to do the suboccipital stretch

Sit upright on a chair, feet on the floor, hands resting on your thighs, eyes forward.
Slide your chin in toward your neck, keeping your eyes level, so the back of your neck feels long.
Keeping the chin tucked, reach one hand over the top of your head and rest it on the back of your head, near the top. The other hand stays on your thigh, as in the video.
Let your hand ease your head gently forward and down, chin toward your chest, until you feel a stretch at the base of your skull.
Hold the stretch and breathe slowly. Then lower your hand and bring your head back up to upright.

What you should feel

A gentle stretch at the base of your skull, sometimes running a little way down the back of your neck. It should never hurt.

Common mistakes

Skipping the chin tuck and just pulling the head down. The tuck is what puts the stretch at the top of the neck.
Pulling hard with your hand. The weight of your arm is close to enough.
Rounding your whole back and slumping forward in the chair.
Holding your breath once the stretch starts.

How often

Many programs hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times, once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

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, numbness or tingling spreads into an arm or hand.
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

Get the tuck right before adding the hand. If you are not sure you have it, practice the plain chin tuck a few times first. Your hand only adds a little weight. Let the stretch build slowly over the hold instead of pulling straight into it.

Pulling the head forward puts extra load on the joints at the very top of the neck. Check with your doctor or physio first if you have rheumatoid arthritis, Down syndrome, a recent neck injury or neck surgery, or have been told the top of your neck is unstable. For tightness along the side of the neck and top of the shoulder, the upper trapezius stretch is a common partner to this one.

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.

Suboccipital stretch