{"id":15321,"date":"2026-06-27T09:22:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T09:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15321"},"modified":"2026-06-27T09:22:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T09:22:44","slug":"7-exercises-to-relieve-neck-shoulder-knee-and-back-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=15321","title":{"rendered":"7 Exercises to Relieve Neck, Shoulder, Knee, and Back Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Published June 27, 2026 03:00AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Maybe your upper back aches after cycling. Or your knees bark whenever you hike uphill or hit the trails for a run. Perhaps your neck twinges every time you swing your pack over your shoulder. In other words, pain accompanies movement. Even if it\u2019s not always debilitating, it still sucks.<\/p>\n

Many factors can cause your body to ache as you move, but for outdoor athletes or people who exercise, it often happens when your muscles, tendons, and other tissues get overloaded, says Tom Walters<\/a>, an orthopedic physical therapist and author of Rehab Science: How to Overcome Pain and Heal from Injury<\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Take trail running or hiking, for example. Those aren\u2019t high-load activities\u2013after all, you\u2019re not moving super heavy weights as you stride\u2013but outdoor athletes often do these activities in a really high volume, tackling dozens of miles a week. Your tissues need to be strong enough to handle all that endurance work, Walters explains, and when they\u2019re not,<\/i> pain and injury can crop up.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, doing certain strength exercises can mitigate this discomfort by increasing your tissue capacity, which refers to how much your tissues and muscles can withstand force or impact<\/a> without being injured. Stretches can help too by boosting overall mobility and promoting recovery in fatigued muscles.<\/p>\n

We asked Walters for a roundup of strength moves and stretches to help you enjoy your usual activities with less pain in seven key areas of the body, as well as the red flags that warrant a call to a physical therapist (PT) or another doctor.<\/p>\n

The following exercises and stretches are for mild pain, not severe or acute pain. If, on a scale of 1\u201310, your pain is a 3\u20134 or below, that is considered mild pain. If it\u2019s a 5 or above, that\u2019s moderate to severe pain, and these exercises are not for you; you should consult your doctor or PT. Also, if you\u2019ve just suffered an acute injury where pain came on suddenly, you should see a doctor, Walters says. You should also see a PT if your pain doesn\u2019t improve after two to three weeks, worsens at any time, or is accompanied by other symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or incontinence (poor bladder or bowel control).<\/p>\n

7 Moves and Stretches to Relieve Pain All Over the Body<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re currently experiencing mild pain, do these moves every day, Walters suggests. They work great sprinkled into a warm-up before exercise, he says, but you can also do them separately from your workouts. Even if you\u2019re not currently experiencing pain, these exercises are great to do one to two times a week to help reduce your chances of aches and injuries cropping up in the future, he adds.<\/p>\n

Equipment Needed<\/h3>\n

To perform the exercises listed below, you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n