14 Stretches to Reduce Stiffness and Muscle Tension Caused By Your Engineering Desk Job

Do you spend all day hunched over your keyboard as a software engineer? Have you ever noticed upper backaches or wrist pain? Coding all day can take a heavy toll on your body.

Instead of spending money on massages, chiropractic adjustments, and physical therapy sessions, try these stretches throughout your day. These will help reduce stiffness and muscle tension and could prevent common injuries and disorders associated with engineering desk jobs.

The following stretches can be easily performed while seated at your desk. We’ll focus on common areas where stress and tension tend to build up and outline some delicious stretches aimed at releasing all that tension!

Note: Be sure to breathe and never hold your breath while stretching. And please do not force a deeper stretch.

Upper Body (Shoulders, Chest, Neck)

Shoulder Shrugs

Raise both shoulders up towards the ears and then drop them.

Overhead Reach

With palms facing away, clasp hands together above your head. Stretch arms up and down.

Downward Dog with Chair

With straight arms, place your hands on the back of your chair or desk and walk backwards until you are bending in an L shape. With your back straight, press your chest towards the floor.

Shoulder Clasp

Clasp hands behind your back and push your chest forward.

Neck Rotation

Slowly roll your head toward one side and hold.

Upper Trapezius

Using your hand, gently pull your head toward your shoulder.

Upper Back Forward Stretch

With palms facing towards you, clasp hands in front of you in line with your shoulders. Lower your head to be in line with the rest of your arms and press forward.

Seated Spinal Twist

Seated sideways on your chair, bring both feet flat to the floor. Keeping your back straight, twist towards the back of the chair. For an even deeper stretch, hold the back of the chair with your hands.

Cat/Cow

Put both feet flat on the floor and place your hands on your knees. On your inhale, push your chest forward and look up toward the ceiling, arching the back. On your exhale, round your spine and let your head drop.

Eagle Arms

Swing your right arm under your left and wrap your forearms around each other. With your palms facing each other, press into your palms. Switch sides.

Forearms and Wrists

Fingers Up/Down

With your arm out and palm facing away from you, use your opposite hand to pull your fingers towards your face. Relax your wrist. Then with your palm facing towards you, use your opposite hand to pull the back of your hand towards your face.

Reverse Prayer

Bring your hands behind your back and press your palms together. Rotate your hands so the fingers point up toward the ceiling.

Lower Body

Hip Flexor

Leaning back on your chair, hug one knee at a time towards your chest.

Seated Figure Four

Place your ankle on your opposite knee. With the raised foot flexed and your back straight, fold forward hinging at your hips.

Admittedly, I still struggle incorporating these stretches throughout the day, especially when I’m in “the zone” and cranking out a lot of work. What’s helped me recently has been setting a timer to remind myself to take breaks throughout the day. Check out the Pomodoro time management technique (shout out to Viki, my colleague here at Adhawk) to separate your workday into discrete time intervals.

For further resources and modified versions of these stretches, check out the links below!

The Ultimate 'Deskercise' Routine: Stretches for the Office

Arm Stretches: For Flexibility

What Types of Yoga Stretches Can You Do at Your Desk?

I would love to hear what other stretches are out there that others have found helpful in their daily lives. Feel free to comment them below!