Upper trap stretch: how to do it at your desk

The upper trapezius is the muscle that runs from the base of your skull and along the top of your shoulder. This stretch is for people who feel that shoulder-to-neck line tighten after long stretches at a laptop, and it takes about two minutes.

How to do it

1. Sit tall with your feet flat. Hold the seat of the chair with your right hand to keep your right shoulder from creeping up.
2. Look straight ahead and let your left ear drift toward your left shoulder. Your nose keeps pointing forward.
3. Stop where you feel a mild stretch along the right side of your neck and the top of your shoulder.
4. Breathe slowly and hold for 20 to 30 seconds.
5. Bring your head back to centre using your neck muscles, not your hand.
6. Switch sides. Do 2 rounds on each side.

Your shoulder stays down and your chin stays level. The movement is a sideways tilt, not a forward drop.

What you should feel

A mild, even pull from just behind your ear down toward the top of the shoulder on the side away from the tilt. Think of it as a 3 or 4 out of 10 on effort. A common physiotherapy rule of thumb is that you should feel no worse the next morning. Sharp pain, pinching in the side of your neck, or tingling into your arm means you have gone too far or should not be doing it.

Common mistakes

• Hiking the shoulder. If your shoulder rises to meet your ear, the stretch disappears. Anchor it with the chair seat.
• Pulling with your hand. Force is not needed, and yanking a neck stretch is how people get sore.
• Rotating your head. Turning your face down toward your armpit shifts the stretch to a different muscle. That version is on the levator scapulae stretch page.
• Bouncing. Ease in, hold still, ease out.
• Holding your breath, which tends to tense your shoulders.

How long and how often

Studies used a range of doses. In a 2008 trial of 31 women with chronic neck pain, the conventional stretching group held each stretch for 30 seconds, twice, for 30 minutes of each session, twice a week for 6 weeks, alongside manual therapy, and the routine included the upper trapezius among other muscles. That trial compared two stretching methods and had no non-stretching group ^[2]. A trial of 96 office workers with neck pain of at least three months gave a stretching programme twice a day, five days a week, for four weeks, alongside ergonomic advice, and the authors reported lower pain scores than in a group given advice alone ^[1]. Those are what was tested, not a target you must hit.

The wider evidence is more cautious. A review of 27 workplace trials found no clear difference when stretching was used alone, and moderate-quality evidence for neck and shoulder strengthening ^[4]. A second review reached a similar view ^[5]. So treat this as a break, not your whole plan.

An easier and a harder version

Easier: tilt less, and skip the chair anchor if it is awkward. Do 10 seconds, three times.

Harder: rest your left hand lightly on the side of your head so its weight adds a little pull, and stay with the same mild effort. Do not press.

At your desk

This one works in a chair without anyone noticing. Anchor one hand on the seat, tilt, hold, and switch. If your screen sits low and you crane forward all day, your neck muscles are working at a disadvantage before you stretch them, so check your monitor height. The LaptopNeck coach lists this as its upper trap stretch.

Stop and see a clinician if

• You feel numbness, tingling or weakness in your arms or hands.
• Pain spreads down an arm.
• You feel dizzy or faint.
• You get double vision or other visual change, a drop attack, or new trouble walking or using your hands.
• Your neck pain began after an injury such as a fall or car accident.
• Your pain is severe or getting worse over days.
• You have new or severe headaches.

This page is general information and cannot diagnose the cause of your neck pain.