- Feel Good
- 22nd Jul 2026
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The desk worker’s hunch: This Newcastle physio shows us how to fix our posture
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Posture. It’s the thing we all promise to sort out and then completely forget about the second an email pings.
Whether you’re working from the sofa on a rainy Tuesday or chained to a desk 9-5, that dull ache across your shoulders and lower back has a way of creeping in and staying put.
Working from our desks at High Life North, this is something we often think about, too. That’s why we caught up with The Movement Clinic in Newcastle to find out why we’re all slumping and, more importantly, what actually works to fix it.
MEET THE NEWCASTLE PHYSIO TEAM GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
The Movement Clinic is based at Dance City on Temple Street, Newcastle, and it’s run by founders Ashleigh and John, a specialist physiotherapy and Pilates reformer rehabilitation clinic with a genuinely different approach to pain. The team learnt their assessment skills from international sports physios and their hands-on skills from osteopaths, and outside the clinic they work in the demanding world of performing arts, so they know exactly what a body under pressure looks like.
An initial assessment here doesn’t just glance at where it hurts. It looks at your entire movement profile, with 80% of the focus on finding the root cause and only 20% on immediate symptom relief through therapies like laser therapy, mobilisation, massage and taping. It’s less quick fix, more proper investigation.
SO WHAT’S ACTUALLY CAUSING YOUR DESK HUNCH?
“The most common postural problems we see in desk workers sitting for long periods are pain on the back of the shoulders and in the neck, and we see a lot of lower back pain. We also see really tight hip flexors and people struggling to get out of slouched positions,” says Ashleigh.
John adds that the picture changes as careers go on: “As people age towards the end of their office careers before retirement, we see that they actually lose strength in the upper back muscles. They end up getting what we call a kyphotic posture, which is a rounded upper back and a forward head position.”
Here’s the bit that might surprise you: “good posture” isn’t really a thing.
“There is a saying in physio that the best posture is the next posture,” John explains. “We’ve actually worked with people from the military who have to keep a perfect posture for a very long time, and they also experience injuries and pain. So, it’s not just about holding a good posture. No such thing really exists.”
Ashleigh agrees the real culprit is staying still, not sitting wrong: “The problems start happening because people are in one position for too long. Often, people’s work posture at a desk is really similar to the posture they adopt during their leisure time, when they’re on phones and computers as well.”
THE ONE MISTAKE ALMOST EVERYONE MAKES WHEN TRYING TO FIX IT THEMSELVES
Impatience, according to Ashleigh: “Muscles take time to strengthen, and flexibility takes time to develop. You need to be really persistent in greasing the groove of new postures and understand that ultimately it’s the project of a lifetime.”
John’s quick to add there’s good news buried in there too: “Don’t let that discourage you, you will feel benefits really quickly if you implement the right strategies. This is exactly where our boutique Pilates studio at Dance City shines, it’s the perfect controlled environment to safely build that flexibility and strengthen those postural muscles.”
CAN YEARS OF DESK HUNCH ACTUALLY BE UNDONE?
The honest answer is yes, mostly, but it takes a proper plan rather than a few YouTube stretches.
“You have to be patient and you have to be careful, and it’s better to use a guided plan,” says Ashleigh. John points to The Movement Clinic’s £90 initial assessment as the starting point: “We can map out exactly what your body needs to undo that desk hunch and rebuild your strength.”
As for the age-old standing desk debate, don’t expect a straight yes. Ashleigh’s ideal setup is one that keeps you moving between positions altogether: walking while you take calls, standing for emails, sitting for reports and even a bit of floor time for CPD videos.
And if you’ve only got five minutes between meetings, both Ashleigh and John are unanimous: just move, differently, however you can. Squats, knee rolls, leg swings, or, in John’s words, “a quick kitchen dance to your favourite song for 3 minutes.” Your joints, apparently, will thank you.
Where it stops being a stretch-it-out situation is simple. “If you can’t do what you need to do, come see a physio. If you’re stopping doing the things you want to do, come see a physio,” John says.
Ashleigh’s take is just as direct: “If you’re dealing with an ache or pain for more than a few days, get it checked out. Don’t wait for it to become a chronic issue, book an initial assessment so we can get it sorted early.”
READY TO SORT YOUR DESK HUNCH FOR GOOD?
Booking with The Movement Clinic is truly friction-free, too: pick your specialist and secure a slot in under 60 seconds via the digital portal, then head to the clinic, where the team will meet you and walk you straight in. No clipboards, no waiting room, and every minute of your 60-minute session is dedicated to hands-on treatment and movement work.
The Movement Clinic, Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle, NE1 4AS
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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