{"id":9315,"date":"2025-08-29T12:21:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/why-stretching-is-important-for-people-who-sit-a-lot\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T12:30:38","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:30:38","slug":"why-stretching-is-important-for-people-who-sit-a-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/why-stretching-is-important-for-people-who-sit-a-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"Why stretching is important for people who sit a lot"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Anyone who sits a lot – whether at a desk, in the car or in front of the TV – exposes their body to one-sided strain. Typical consequences are tense muscles, back pain and poor posture, which can also affect your well-being and performance in the long term. The hips, shoulders, neck and back are particularly affected, as they are often either shortened or overloaded due to monotonous sitting. <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The aim of targeted stretching and mobilization is to stretch the shortened muscles and strengthen the weakened areas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The \"crossed syndrome according to Janda\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The “crossed syndrome” according to Professor Vladimir Janda describes muscular imbalances that often occur in people with predominantly sedentary jobs. In “upper crossed syndrome”, certain muscle groups (e.g. neck extensors, chest muscles) are shortened and others (e.g. deep neck flexors, lower shoulder muscles) are weakened. <\/p>

This typically leads to:<\/p>

  • Protruding head<\/li>
  • Rounded back (increased thoracic kyphosis)<\/li>
  • Raised, protruding shoulders<\/li>
  • Tension in the neck and shoulder area<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Practical stretching exercises for everyday (office) life<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Just a few minutes a day help to relieve tension and promote mobility:<\/p>

    Upper body stretch:<\/strong> While standing or sitting, place one arm over your head and pull it sideways towards the opposite ear. Tilt your upper body slightly in the same direction – this stretches the muscles in the side of your torso. Hold each side for 20 seconds and repeat several times. <\/p>

    Back rotation while sitting:<\/strong> Sit upright on the chair, place your hands on the sides of your head and slowly rotate your upper body alternately to the side. Important: Tense your back and stomach slightly and perform the movement slowly. <\/p>

    Open the chest muscles:<\/strong> Clasp your hands behind your back, pull your arms down behind you, bring your shoulder blades together and open your chest. Hold for 15-30 seconds, repeat. <\/p>

    Stretch the lower back:<\/strong> While seated, cross one leg over the other, grasp the opposite knee and turn your upper body to the side until you feel a stretch. Hold for 30 seconds on each side. <\/p>

    Daily routine:<\/strong> 10-15 minutes of stretching per day is enough to alleviate and prevent discomfort.
    Tips for lasting success<\/p>

    It is best to integrate several short sessions a day instead of sitting for long periods at a time.<\/p>

    Even small movement impulses such as standing up, stretching or targeted short exercises improve posture and have a positive effect on mood and concentration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    EXERCISE RECOMMENDATION:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    A particularly practical exercise for stretching the back directly at the office chair is the “back rotation while sitting”.<\/p>

    • Turn to the side on the office chair<\/li>
    • Sit upright on the front edge of the office chair, feet flat on the floor.<\/li>
    • Slowly turn your upper body to the right side, your right hand grips the back of the office chair behind your back, your left hand pulls lightly on your right thigh.<\/li>
    • Hold the twist briefly, continue to breathe consciously and release tension.<\/li>
    • Then switch to the left side and do the same.<\/li>
    • Hold for 10-15 seconds on each side and perform 2-3 repetitions.<\/li><\/ul>

      This exercise promotes mobility in the back, loosens tense muscles and is ideal for doing in between workouts without much effort.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      • \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlways perform stretches slowly; be aware of the stretching stimulus, but never go into the pain.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Anyone who sits a lot – whether at a desk, in the car or in front of the TV – exposes their body to one-sided strain. Typical consequences are tense muscles, back pain and poor posture, which can also affect your well-being and performance in the long term. The hips, shoulders, neck and back are particularly affected, as they are often either shortened or overloaded due to monotonous sitting. The aim of targeted stretching and mobilization is to stretch the shortened muscles and strengthen the weakened areas. The “crossed syndrome according to Janda” The “crossed syndrome” according to Professor Vladimir Janda describes muscular imbalances that often occur in people with predominantly sedentary jobs. In “upper crossed syndrome”, certain muscle groups (e.g. neck extensors, chest muscles) are shortened and others (e.g. deep neck flexors, lower shoulder muscles) are weakened. This typically leads to: Protruding head Rounded back (increased thoracic kyphosis) Raised, protruding shoulders Tension in the neck and shoulder area Practical stretching exercises for everyday (office) life Just a few minutes a day help to relieve tension and promote mobility: Upper body stretch: While standing or sitting, place one arm over your head and pull it sideways towards the opposite ear. Tilt your upper body slightly in the same direction – this stretches the muscles in the side of your torso. Hold each side for 20 seconds and repeat several times. Back rotation while sitting: Sit upright on the chair, place your hands on the sides of your head and slowly rotate your upper body alternately to the side. Important: Tense your back and stomach slightly and perform the movement slowly. Open the chest muscles: Clasp your hands behind your back, pull your arms down behind you, bring your shoulder blades together and open your chest. Hold for 15-30 seconds, repeat. Stretch the lower back: While seated, cross one leg over the other, grasp the opposite knee and turn your upper body to the side until you feel a stretch. Hold for 30 seconds on each side. Daily routine: 10-15 minutes of stretching per day is enough to alleviate and prevent discomfort.Tips for lasting success It is best to integrate several short sessions a day instead of sitting for long periods at a time. Even small movement impulses such as standing up, stretching or targeted short exercises improve posture and have a positive effect on mood and concentration. EXERCISE RECOMMENDATION: A particularly practical exercise for stretching the back directly at the office chair is the “back rotation while sitting”. Turn to the side on the office chair Sit upright on the front edge of the office chair, feet flat on the floor. Slowly turn your upper body to the right side, your right hand grips the back of the office chair behind your back, your left hand pulls lightly on your right thigh. Hold the twist briefly, continue to breathe consciously and release tension. Then switch to the left side and do the same. Hold for 10-15 seconds on each side and perform 2-3 repetitions. This exercise promotes mobility in the back, loosens tense muscles and is ideal for doing in between workouts without much effort. Always perform stretches slowly; be aware of the stretching stimulus, but never go into the pain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1624,"featured_media":9314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[458],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1624"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bewegungsatlas.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}