Eliminate Shoulder and Neck Pain With 3-Minute Upper-Limb Stretches

Nine simple exercises to fight poor posture caused by prolonged sitting.

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The shoulder and neck pain many office workers experience is due to prolonged sitting and poor posture. Here, learn how to stretch your upper limbs for three minutes to relieve the pain and build “natural” muscles.

What if you could build strong muscles without going to the gym? Chinese classical dancers call muscles developed this way natural muscles. What are natural muscles? In simple terms, they are the muscles we use in daily life. With some training, we can maintain and strengthen our natural muscles with everyday activities.

Exercise Natural Muscles to Relieve Soreness

You must strengthen the back and core and lengthen muscles to develop natural muscles. Lengthening is synonymous with stretching, which can help address various modern-day conditions caused by sedentary lifestyles.

A common problem among office workers is upper cross syndrome (UCS), caused by tightness in the chest and back of the neck and weakness in the back and front neck, resulting in rounded shoulders, hunched back, and shoulder, neck, and lower back pain. To correct bad posture and relieve pain, strengthening weak muscles is crucial. Both heavy training and muscle lengthening and strengthening can achieve the same result; they only differ in how they work the muscles.

Heavy training focuses on increasing the load on the muscles. Strength training causes minor injuries that will trigger repair, making them grow stronger and bigger. This growth will progress with more training. The more you do it, the stronger you will become.

On the other hand, lengthening will help create flexibility in your muscles and relieve tension.

9 Stretches to Relieve Shoulder and Neck Pain

（The Epoch Times）

1. Cross-Limb Stretching

1. Stretch your right arm straight across toward your left shoulder and hold it with the left arm at 90 degrees.
2. Press the right arm inward as much as possible. You should feel a gentle stretch on the right shoulder.
3. Hold for at least seven seconds. This will activate the Golgi tendon organ to help relax tight muscles.
4. Switch arms.

2. Cross-Stretching and Twisting

1. Starting in the cross-limb stretching position, twist the shoulders, hips, and head in different directions to further stretch the scapula, shoulders, and waist, improving muscle strength.
2. After a few seconds of holding, switch arms.

3. Triceps Stretch

1. Raise an arm and reach your hand down to your back.
2. Tilt your head slightly forward and look down.
3. Raise the other hand and hold your elbow. Switch arms after a few seconds of holding.

4. Chest Opener and Shoulder Lift

1. Lift your chest and waist.
2. Draw a circle with your arms from bottom to top and push your scapula inward as much as possible after passing your head.
3. Repeat, circling the other way.

5. Side-Waist Stretch

1. Hold the right wrist with your left hand and bend to the left. This will stretch the right side and move your center of gravity to the right foot. Shift your hips to the right.
2. Push your chest out and stretch your back, stretching as far to the left as is comfortable.
3. Hold for several seconds. Switch sides and repeat.

6. Shoulder Stretch

1. Place your wrists on a table or chair and lean forward, stretching your arms and back. Hold for several seconds.
2. During the downward press, you can slump your waist a little to increase the forward tilt of the pelvis and deepen the press.

7. Swinging Hands

1. Swing one arm upward and the other downward.
2. In a swinging motion, switch arms so the other is stretched upward and the other downward. Repeat.

8. Standing Cat-Cow

1. Dome your back and lean forward, swinging your arms out before you. This stretches your back muscles.
2. Push your chest out and stretch your arms backward, feeling the chest expand.
3. Take turns stretching the front and back.

9. Stand on Tiptoes

Standing on tiptoes is an essential posture in Chinese dance or ballet because it trains the body’s center of gravity, enabling smoother and more stable movements. At the same time, standing on tiptoes requires total body balance, coordination, and muscle strength. Moreover, tiptoeing can trigger the release of osteocalcin. Osteocalcin can prevent osteoporosis, eliminate edema, and lower blood pressure and blood sugar.