While sitting on chair, you could be sitting on a wrong posture, although your chair might have been made ergonomically suitable. Office working situation of today hardly requires any field activity that means most part of the day you are confined to sitting at one place working in the same manner. This prolonged sitting and working at one place creates tension in spinal chord.

Back support of the office chair is a good remedy to your back pain and problem of posture. Without getting off your chair, you can conveniently perform back stretches.

Sparing 10 to 15 minutes for back stretches can relieve much of your tensions. These back stretches can be conveniently done while working at your office chair or waiting in a parked car. Just sit with your spine long and tall and turn your torso to face back of your chair. Grab top part of your chair (in case of sitting in car grab just below the headrest in your car). The legs should be still; twist your torso gently with your arms so that your chest moves towards the back of the seat. You should repeat it on the opposite side. This movement will stretch upper back and shoulders of your body.

In one of the back stretches, you can do without getting off the chair is sit upright in your chair without slouching. Breathe in and lift your right shoulder to your ear. Then exhale and roll your shoulder slowly around and back dropping it away from your ear. Repeat it for the left shoulder. You can do it four to five times for both sides. Finally inhale and lift left and right shoulder to the ear, hold for a while, exhale and release.

There are varieties of back stretches. You can sit upright on the chair without touching your back to the back of the chair. Keep your head aligned directly over your spine and lift crown of your head. You can hold on to the sides of the chair for more stability. Breathe in and out and drop your right ear to the right shoulder. Do not turn your head or lift your shoulder. Take some breaths and experience the stretch on the left side of the neck. For other side, repeat the cycle.

There are many stretches to partially or wholly stretch this larger muscle group of our body system. Our back consists a tenuous framework of our body that keeps us upright and in balance; therefore, stretches become all the more important. Further, back stretches rehabilitate a strained back or a pulled muscle in the back. There are different methods of stretching the back muscles like lying down on the floor or standing up. The following are the 5 prominent back stretches that can be conveniently done while at home or at workstation:

1) One of the many back stretches is to lie on the floor on stomach with elbows bent at your side. When you slowly strengthen the elbows to lift up your upper body from the floor, it starts stretching the back muscles. If you feel no pain, then hold for about 10 seconds in this position. Go back to the initial position and repeat the stretch. At will you can do these stretches for about 15 times.

2) You can lye on your back on an even floor and try to press small of your back to the floor. The lower abdominal muscles help bring down the small of your back and the lower back muscles.

3) In another back stretch you can lie down flat on the floor bending knees with the flat on the floor. Then curl into a wall with your hands at back of your thighs or front of your shins and pull your legs to yourself. This stretch benefits at the upper and lower back.

4) One of the back stretches is to lie with knees bent and feet flat on the even floor. While keeping the back flat on the floor turn hip towards one side, either left or right, bringing both bent legs with the rotation. You can feel a slight stretch as the legs start to go down; there is no necessity to completely bring the legs to the floor if at the initial stage it is not comfortable. Keep holding on this pose for about 10 seconds and return to the original position. Repeat for the other side. This stretching exercise is beneficial for back as well as hit muscles.

5) Lie flat on your back; place sole of your right foot on your left thigh and grasp your right knee with your left hand. Gently roll it to the left. Position your knee as close to the floor as possible without your right shoulder leaving the floor. Repeat the same for other side.