Cross-body shoulder stretch
Suggestions, not prescriptions. Exercises here pass automated checks. They have not been clinically reviewed, and no exercise is right for everyone. Adjust to your comfort and ability.
Bring one arm across your chest to stretch the back of the shoulder. It helps with reaching across your body, like putting on a seat belt.
- Main focus
- Flexibility
- Level
- Starting
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Load
- Your body weight
- Stability
- Free: you control the whole movement
Before you start
- Warm up first with a minute or two of easy walking or marching in place, and cool down the same way after.
- Wear flat, closed shoes with a good grip, or go barefoot on a non-slip floor if that feels steady to you.
- Clear the floor around you. Keep a sturdy chair, counter or wall within reach for any move you do standing.
- Build up slowly. Add repetitions or minutes over weeks, not days. If you take a break, work back up gradually.
Talk with a doctor or physical therapist before you start if you have not been active for some time, if you have a health condition or a worry about exercise, if you have fallen or fear falling, or if a clinician has told you to limit activity. This library is general information, not medical advice.
What you need
None. Sit or stand.
How to do it
- Sit or stand tall. Reach your right arm across your chest, at about shoulder height.
- Use your left hand on your right upper arm, above the elbow, to hold it gently in place.
- Hold, breathing normally. Do not pull on the elbow joint.
- Release and switch arms.
How much
To start: Hold 10 seconds. 2 times each arm.
As it gets easier: Hold 10 to 20 seconds. 3 times each arm.
How it should feel: A mild stretch across the back of the shoulder.
Make it easier
- Hold the arm lower, closer to your waist.
Make it harder
- Hold a few seconds longer.
Safety
- Keep your shoulders down and relaxed.
- Do not twist your body to get a bigger stretch.
When to stop
- Stop and rest if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sick to your stomach, or unusually short of breath.
- Stop if you feel sharp, sudden or joint pain. Muscles working hard is expected. Pain is a signal to stop.
- Stop and sit down if you feel unsteady and cannot settle yourself right away.
- Call your local emergency number for chest pain or pressure, fainting, or sudden weakness, numbness or trouble speaking.
- After any of these, do not repeat the exercise until you have talked with a doctor or physical therapist.
- You feel pinching or sharp pain at the front of the shoulder.
- You feel tingling or numbness in your arm.
Other ways to do this movement
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Where this comes from
NIA: stretch warm muscles, keep breathing, do not stretch so far that it hurts. Name and movement from the screened catalog entry; the text and hold times are original.
- Three Types of Exercise Can Improve Your Health and Physical Ability, National Institute on Aging, NIH (Content reviewed Jan. 14, 2025).
This is general information, not medical advice. It does not diagnose anything or tell you whether an exercise is right for you. Adjust to your comfort and ability.