Mobility exercise

# Chair thoracic extension

A gentle backward bend of the upper back over the top of a chair. You can do it at a desk in under a minute.

Also called: seated thoracic extension, upper back extension over chair

- **Type:** Mobility

- **Equipment:** No equipment

- **Area:** Upper and mid back

- **Level:** Gentle

- **Starting dose in Remedy:** 2 sets of 8

## How to do it

- Sit tall in a chair with a firm back that reaches about the bottom of your shoulder blades.
- Put your hands behind your head and bring your elbows in a little.
- Lean back over the top edge of the chair, letting your upper back extend.
- Pause for a breath, then return to sitting tall.

## Form cues

- Hands behind your head.
- Arch only the upper back over the chair, not the low back.

## Common mistakes

- Pushing the ribs and belly forward, which turns it into a low back arch.
- Pulling on the head with the hands.

## Easier and harder versions

- Remedy keeps this one steady and changes the work around it instead.

## Why it helps a sore back

Long stretches of sitting and looking at a screen keep the upper back rounded. This moves it the other way, using the chair back as a pivot so the bend comes from the upper back and not the lower back.

## How Remedy uses it

In the app it is called **Thoracic Extension (Chair-Assisted)**. Remedy is more likely to pick it if you say your back is bothered by sitting too long. A typical starting dose is 2 sets of 8, and the program adjusts reps as the weeks go on. Every exercise in the app has a demonstration video.

General fitness information, not medical advice. Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, or pain, numbness, or tingling spreading down a leg.

## More mobility exercises

[Mobility

### Hip flexor stretch

A lunge-position stretch for the front of the hip.
No equipment · Gentle](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/hip-flexor-stretch)
[Mobility

### McKenzie press-up

A press-up from lying on your stomach where the hips stay on the floor and the lower back extends.
No equipment · Gentle](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/mckenzie-press-up)
[Mobility

### Cat-cow stretch

An all-fours movement that alternates rounding and arching your spine.
No equipment · Gentle](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/cat-cow)

## Guides that use it
[Guide
### Upper back pain exercises
Mobility and strength for a tight upper or middle back, especially if you sit a lot.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/upper-back-pain-exercises)[Guide
### Back pain from sitting
For people whose back gets tight from a chair and a screen.Read the guide](https://remedyrecoveries.com/desk)

[More exercise guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/)

## Get a back program you can actually keep

Free to download on the App Store. Answer a few questions and your first session is ready in minutes.

[](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/remedy-back-pain-relief/id6813745106)[Read the guides](https://remedyrecoveries.com/guides/)

---
Source: https://remedyrecoveries.com/exercises/thoracic-extension
Remedy is a fitness and wellness app, not medical care.