Posted on 01/22/2020 10:58:47 AM PST by rebuildus
Okay, today I suppose I’m trying to outdo myself for “old schoolishness”!
This is a protocol I’ve been using to help restore function to my injured shoulder, as well as to help decompress my spine. WATCH VIDEO.
I tweaked the shoulder a year ago doing bench dips. I overextended the movement, which isn’t that hard to do, it’s one reason why the exercise—and regular dips too—can be dangerous to the shoulder girdle.
Don’t get me wrong—dips can be an excellent chest, shoulder, tricep, and serratus anterior muscle (over and above the ribcage) exercise. But you have to be very careful not to overstretch the shoulder muscles and tendons on the way down.
There are many exercises and methods to rehab or strengthen the shoulder. I’ve used some, and they are effective. And keep in mind that shoulders typically take a fair amount of time to get better.
The Bar Hang! But the simplest protocol (by far) that I’ve seen to bring the shoulders back into condition is the good ole bar hang. I found an interesting book written by a retired orthopedic surgeon named Dr. John Kirsch, MD.
Dr. Kirsch became weary of seeing so many people get shoulder surgeries, he believes, in many cases (but not all) unnecessarily.
Of course, if you have a shoulder injury, you should have it checked out by a professional, and get a second opinion if possible. But Dr. Kirsch believes that a person should make sure that surgery is absolutely necessary before diving in.
The reason Dr. Kirsch recommends bar hanging is because (per his website): “When engaged, the humerus (upper arm bone) leans on the acromion bending this structure, providing more room beneath the acromion. This leads to healing sub-acromial impingement syndrome, frozen shoulder and rotator cuff tear symptoms.
Go to his site and see the image yourself (scroll down) to best understand (a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say). And buy his book (I’m not making any money from this link, fyi) to get more detail on why and how this works, and to read the many testimonials of people who have helped repair their injured shoulders.
As I said, in my particular case, my shoulder has healed slowly, but since I’ve incorporated the hanging per Dr. Kirsch’s instructions, it’s headed in the right direction.
How and How Often to Hang Everybody is different, but it’s clear that—like almost everything in life—that more frequent practice (assuming recovery in between sessions) is best (meaning a person may need to do the exercise up to daily for best results). I explain this further in my video. And I would not start by hanging with full weight, but have the feet on the ground or something else to assist you. And start slow, such as doing one set of hanging for ten seconds, and work your way up.
Supplemental Exercises Dr. Kirsch also recommends supplemental shoulder exercises with light dumbbells, as I also demonstrate in my video.
If you have pain or reduced movement in your shoulders, I would at least go to Dr. Kirsch’s site and pick up his book. Give it a good read, and if everything makes sense to you, and you’re physically able to hang, then give it a try. This is not guaranteed to work for everyone, but Dr. Kirsch states that it works in a high degree of cases.
You may just find something really simple that may help you reduce pain and restore proper shoulder function. And that will improve your entire quality of life and allow you to work and play again without serious limitations.
To your Health and Fitness,
Patrick
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. Its focus is natural health and independent living. Patrick is the author of GREEK PHYSIQUE: The Simple, Satisfying Way to Sculpt Your Body—Even if You’re Old, Weak, or Broken Down; and is also the creator of Greek Yoga™ and the Greek Yoga for Beginners video. He offers health and fitness consulting in-person in Middle Tennessee and worldwide via phone, Zoom, and Skype. To reach Patrick, email him at info@oldschoolus.com.
Shoulder hangs are very important. I used to have minor shoulder injuries once or twice a year — since doing regular shoulder hangs, I’ve had no problems.
I also recommend rotator cuff exercises. You generally work with very light weights for these, but they make a difference and help protect against injury.
I've been hanging out in bars most of my adult life, and I can attest to having minimal shoulder pain...
bkmk
I had $30,000 shoulder surgery on one shoulder that definitely needed it about ten years ago. But the other is now more sore than that one, though that one is not sore at all. I have no health insurance so this sort of thing is all out of pocket for me. I need to look into this. I never heard of shoulder hangs.
I also recommend rotator cuff exercises. You generally work with very light weights for these, but they make a difference and help protect against injury.
I agree totally, as does Dr. Kirsch, who mentions this in his book. I did in my video too (I demo'd).
Gee, all this time I thought Hanging was appropriate for Murderers and Traitors. Tough crowd.
If you have a torn tendon no amount of hanging is going to fix it.
Me, too. I guess that for therapeutic use, you have to do it gently, without a sharp drop.
Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
They said that you was hung.
And they was right.
I have had back problems my entire life, and out of desperation, decided to buy an inversion table.
I was using it twice a day for eight minutes at a time and now only do it when I feel back issues coming on.
It feels great, but it isn’t for everyone. I don’t mind being upside down, but my wife and brother who both tried it couldn’t get over the feeling of being inverted with the blood rushing to their head.
I guess the back pain far outweighed the blood rush to the head for me...
Incidentally, I get about an inch and a half taller after an inversion session (out of curiosity, I did a before and after height check)
I guess my problem is mostly disc compression and degenerative changes.
I got Dr. Kirsh’s book two months ago and put the instructions into practice. I’m happy to report that it has worked very well for me. It’s pretty simple, you hang from a bar and do three different dumbbell exercises.
EAT JELLO TOO!!!!
good for maintaining cartilage.
Joe Rogan does hanging from a bar.
Even without an inversion table, or those moon boot thingies, you can do shoulder hangs to help decompress the spine too. I’ve got one disc that gets a little hinky, nothing too serious, and if I do a shoulder hang when that happens it usually clears up pretty quick.
And comparatively cheap too. We got ours on Amazon at Christmas, and it came with nice Airsoft ankle holders for $120 or so. You obviously can spend a lot more, but this works really well for us.
Rotator cuff was torn pretty badly a couple of years ago.
Would I be making it worse?
This worked for me, getting me off the Oxycodene, from excruciating neck/shoulder pain:
https://cbdclinic.co/shop/cbd-clinic-level-5-pro-sport-deep-muscle-joint-pain-3-pack/
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