On 9NEWS · 2021
Posture exercises for returning to the workplace
Aired on 9NEWS, August 11, 2021. Reprinted with permission.
2026 note from Jamie
I open this one by saying sitting "cranks up" the neck and these moves "take the pressure off". I wouldn't explain it that way now. A stiff upper back and a sore neck after a long desk day are common, and they aren't a sign your spine is being damaged. These moves are still worth doing, because they feel good and get you moving. If neck pain has stuck around for months, that's a different conversation.
Play video: Posture exercises for returning to the workplace (9NEWS) Transcript
Jamie: The human spine: a fascinating piece of equipment that we need to stand tall. Unfortunately, the cervical spine... If you can imagine the natural curves of the spine, the cervical spine here can sometimes get a little cranked up as we sit all day. The important part to remember is that this thoracic spine here, this upper back, can really get rounded. So we need something to open it up, to take the pressure off that cervical spine.
Jamie: First move. I'm going to take a rolled-up towel or yoga mat. I want to put this across my shoulder blades, right here, arms wide, and I'm just going to roll the knees left to right. That rolling is going to provide some gentle massage and opening of that thoracic spine.
Jamie: Number two. Now, you'll notice I'm not picking up my head. I'm really trying to let gravity weigh me down, drawing open either side of my neck as I'm going. You can do both those moves for three to five minutes and you'll feel amazing.
Jamie: Last one, if you're sitting at a desk and you don't have a chance to get down. I'm going to take my hand, wrap it under the edge of the seat, sitting nice and tall. And then I'm going to take my head slightly to the right and tilt it down, and you will feel this deep, delicious stretch right through the upper trapezius on your left-hand side.
Jamie: One more move to do. It's over here. I'm going to take a yoga block again. You can use whatever you'd like, but this move right here I call "head steady, chest moving." The more I move my feet away from the wall, the harder it's going to get. So now I'm going to collapse, and then drive the chest forward. Now, you'll notice I'm not bringing my head up; my head is dead level. What's happening right now is I'm having to use these neck muscles to drive my chest up. Do 15 to 20 reps of these anywhere you want, and you'll find yourself standing taller, free of neck pain. For more spots like this, go to 9news.com.
Afterword, 2026
"Free of neck pain" was TV shorthand. Today I'd say these moves ease desk-day stiffness, and that neck pain which hangs on for months usually needs more than stretches: it needs someone to look at what the neck will and won't accept, and build from there.
Below is Monique, a client who came in with four weeks of neck pain. One person's result, not a promise.
Monique, 4 weeks of 7/10 neck pain
A stay-at-home mom, four weeks in. Pain went from 7/10 to 0/10 in 40 minutes.
Results vary from person to person.
Play video: Client testimonial: Monique, 4 weeks of neck pain rated 7/10 Related
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