Screen-Directed Stretching: Supporting Ergonomic Neck Stretching in XR Workspaces

Habitual static stretching is recommended in many ergonomics guidelines, but continuing this habit remains challenging to workers. We address two factors causing this difficulty: most workers lack an understanding of the appropriate mechanisms of stretching, and stretching sessions require the interruption of ongoing tasks. We propose Screen-Directed Stretching, a novel technique that supports neck stretching in extended reality (XR) workspaces without interrupting work. Our technique temporarily repositions the virtual screen that the user is focusing on, guiding them to rotate their head in yaw, pitch, and roll directions and to maintain a posture for a specific duration, thus facilitating muscle extension. Through two preliminary user studies, we developed a prototype that seamlessly switches the screen’s coordinate system between world-bound and body-bound frames of reference, balancing practical workability and good stretching guidance. A user study (N = 16) demonstrates that our technique effectively induces stretching movements while minimizing loss of task efficiency.