Hand up the back (back scratch reach)
Sitting or standing, you slide your hands behind your back and up towards your shoulder blades, then lower them. It wins back turning the arm in behind you after breast surgery, which you need for fastening a bra, tucking in clothes and reaching a back pocket. There's no 3D demo for this move yet: follow the written steps.
Movement guide
Hand up the back (back scratch reach)
Make it easier or harder
Start where you can move well, then step up.
Easier option
This is already one of the gentlest options for these muscles.
Harder option
3D demoCrab reachIntermediate · No equipmentSimilar move, intermediate grade.
Source-researched guide. Clinical review is pending.
How to move
- Sit or stand tall. Hold your arms a little out to the sides and bend your elbows.
- Slowly take your hands behind your back, with the backs of your hands against you.
- Slowly reach up your back towards just under your shoulder blades, as far as is comfortable.
- Slowly lower your arms back down to your sides.
- If it's hard at first, hold a towel behind your back with one end in each hand, and use your good arm to gently help the other arm up.
Form cues
- Move slowly, with your shoulders down.
- Aim towards your bra strap line over time.
Practice and cautions
5 times, 3 times a day for the first 3 months: Breast Cancer Now's leaflet. Hull's DIEP leaflet uses 5 to 10.
Breast Cancer Now and Cancer Research UK include it in the first days after breast surgery, but after implant or back flap reconstruction Cancer Research UK says don't reach behind your back for the first 2 weeks, and Hull's leaflet after lymph node clearance starts it from day 8. Follow your own team's leaflet. This is movement education, not an assessment or treatment prescription. Stop for sharp or increasing pain, dizziness, numbness or tingling; seek individual guidance for symptoms, injury or restrictions.
Sources and review status
Sources support the educational description; they do not establish that this exercise is suitable for you.
- Breast Cancer Now 2024 · Exercises after breast cancer surgery (leaflet BCC6) ↗
- Cancer Research UK · Exercises after a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery (lumpectomy) ↗
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 2026 · Exercises after breast surgery involving axillary node dissection (physiotherapy leaflet) ↗
- Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 2024 · Advice and exercises after DIEP breast reconstruction (physiotherapy leaflet) ↗
- Cancer Research UK · Exercises after breast reconstruction using implants ↗
- Cancer Research UK · Exercises after breast reconstruction using muscle from your back ↗
No variation is labeled clinically validated.
What it works
Muscles
Main: Shoulders.
Anatomy: Deltoid, Rotator cuff, Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Subscapularis, Teres minor.
Equipment
None: body weight and floor space.
Level
Beginner. See the easier and harder options above.
Workouts that use it
Guides that use it
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Questions people ask
What muscles does the Hand up the back (back scratch reach) work?
Mainly the shoulders.
What equipment do I need for the Hand up the back (back scratch reach)?
No equipment: your body weight and a little floor space.
Is the Hand up the back (back scratch reach) good for beginners?
It is graded beginner, so it suits most people starting out. When it feels easy, try the Crab reach.
How do I make the Hand up the back (back scratch reach) harder?
Progress to the Crab reach, or add load, range or slower lowering once your form is solid.