Like the song says, it’s all connected: the back bone’s connected to the neck bone, and so forth. The exercises below will work on various parts of the trapezius, a large muscle that extends across your upper back area — from the neck, through the shoulders, and down the spine. The people most exposed to pain and tightness in the neck and upper back area include long-distance drivers, and anyone who spends a lot of time working at a desk, especially computer users

Here are some quick upper back pain exercises. You can run through all of these in about five minutes, in the sequence below, once you have the pattern down.

Neck relaxation. Lower your ear gently toward your shoulder, bending your neck. Exhale, then relax the shoulders. Repeat on the other side. Do this a total of three times on each side.

Overhead stretch. Raise your arms above your head, palms facing in. Pull down and back slowly, bending your elbows. Keep your palms facing inward. As your elbows approach your sides, allow your hands to bend up at the wrists, so that your palms face the ceiling. Your palms should be at the same height, just about even with your chest, pointing upward like two weighing scales. Hold this “balancing” position for about ten seconds, then slowly release your wrists and elbows toward the floor. At the very end, with your hands near your sides, allow your shoulders to roll inward slightly, to rest in a natural position. Do the sequence a total of four times.

Shoulder rolls. Next, bring your shoulders toward your ears, then roll them back. Move the rotator cuffs in a slow circular motion, rolling back, three times total, then stop. Focus on improving your posture as you roll back. If you wish, you can add forward rolls to the sequence too, but end with the backward rolls to give yourself the best final posture. Do the sequence a total of four times.

Upper body tense-and-release. Inhale as you shrug your shoulders upward, toward your ears, clenching your fists out in front of you, thumbs toward the ceiling. Do not clench your jaw. Now hold this upward position for five seconds. Then exhale and relax completely for five seconds. Do the sequence a total of four times.

Side bends. Bring one fist up next to your shoulder socket while you inhale. Now bend at the side so that your elbow points toward the ceiling. Hold the position for five seconds. Then exhale and relax completely for five seconds, being careful not to bounce. Now repeat the sequence on the other side. Do this a total of three times on each side.

Shoulder and chest stretch. Finally, clasp your hands, fingers interlaced, behind your lower back. Bring your shoulder blades together. Now raise your arms slowly, stretching away from your back, until your hands reach the mid-back level. Hold this position with a straight yet relaxed back for ten seconds. Do the sequence a total of four times.

Gently shake out any joints that feel a bit tight, and you’re good to go!