Five stretches for people who sit at a desk all day

Written for UpdateSee: the essentials, without the noise.

Long hours in a chair tighten the hip flexors, round the shoulders and stiffen the neck. Five gentle stretches, held for thirty seconds each, undo most of that in under five minutes: a standing hip-flexor lunge, a doorway chest stretch, a seated spinal twist, a chin tuck for the neck and a calf stretch against the wall. None of them need equipment.

Long hours in a chair tighten the hip flexors, round the shoulders and stiffen the neck.

Timing is the secret. Do the set once mid-morning and once mid-afternoon, and stand up for a minute every half hour in between. Set a quiet reminder for the first two weeks until the habit sticks. If any stretch causes sharp pain rather than mild tension, stop and ask a physiotherapist; discomfort that improves within a minute is normal, pain that lingers is not.