Why you should incorporate this simple exercise for shoulder health and potentially fixing your shoulder pain.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Leonardo da Vinci

When it comes to our fitness, sometimes it’s the simple things that can have the most benefit.

Dr. John M. Kirsch, an orthopaedic surgeon with more than 30 years in practice. In his book ‘Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention’, advocates the dead hang (also known as brachiating) as a highly effective exercise for shoulder pain and that doing it regularly could eliminate shoulder pain entirely, whether it’s because of an injury or poor posture.

Who should dead hang?

The dead hand is perfect for those who want to maintain healthy shoulders, or for those who already have shoulder pain and who have been given a diagnosis of subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS), rotator cuff injury or frozen shoulder

Benefits of the Dead Hang for Rehabilitation

According to Dr. Kirsch, the hang is good for people with shoulder impingement and even rotator cuff injuries.

Here’s why: Apart from stretching the brachial arteries, the hang also stretches and strengthens the supraspinatus tendon. This is the tendon that’s mainly responsible for shoulder strength, mobility, and endurance.

Athletes with shoulder impingement syndrome suffer from painful entrapment of soft tissue whenever they elevate the arm. The pathological mechanism is a structural narrowing in the subacromial space. When you raise your arms forward, the supraspinatus tendon gets pinched between the coracoacromial arch and the humeral head and greater tuberosity of the humerus. That’s where the pinching sensation comes from when you try to raise an injured or compromised shoulder.

When the arms are raised straight up as in the dead hang, the humerus presses into the acromion (a bony extension of the shoulder blade). This gives the tendon room to move and stretch without getting pinched. This allows you to exercise, stretch, and reshape this tendon and the surrounding muscles and bones improving mobility while reducing pain

The more you do the dead hang or brachiating, the better and stronger your shoulders will be. It opens up the shoulder muscles and increases their range of motion. This means you can now flex your shoulders across a larger radius, without it feeling like a struggle.

Benefit of Dead Hang

Dead Hangs Strengthen Numerous Upper-Body Muscles

Dead hangs work most of the muscles in the back, arms, and upper body in general, including the:

• Deltoids and rotator cuff muscles in the shoulders

• Abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, and external and internal obliques)

• Upper-back muscles like the trapezius and rhomboid

• Latissimus dorsi and erector spinae of the back

• Brachioradialis in the forearms

• Biceps and triceps of the upper arms, to some degree

Increasing the strength in these muscles can improve your lifting capacity for numerous exercises and can translate to improved athletic performance in activities such as rowing, swimming, boxing, jump roping, and even running.

Dead Hangs Improve Grip Strength 

“Grip strength is a simple but powerful predictor of future disability, morbidity, and mortality,”

Grip strength is an often overlooked aspect of fitness. Poor grip strength can indeed be a limiting factor in how much you can handle for certain lifts and strength training exercises. We often spend countless hours strengthening upper-body muscles involved in key lifts like the bench press, deadlifts, curls, and rows, but we don’t pay much attention to deliberately training wrist and hand muscles for grip strength.

More importantly having good grip strength extends beyond helping you lift more weight in the gym. According to studies, the strength of your grip may be a determinant of longevity. One research study from 2018 revealed that there's "clear evidence that shows low grip strength is associated with a range of poorer health outcomes," and the authors have told Reuters the study's findings that "grip strength showed a stronger association with cardiovascular disease than blood pressure and physical activity." As per Phaeleau Cunneen CPT this could be result of the fact that those with strong grip strength live the "generally more active lifestyle,”.

In 2015 a study showed that a reduced handgrip strength was closely linked to mortality in people of all incomes, predicting risks for early death better than blood pressure, which is often considered one of the best indicators of life span. They found that, in general, the weaker someone’s grip strength was, the higher his or her epigenetic age. Their DNA appeared less youthful than that of their stronger contemporaries, leaving them potentially more vulnerable to earlier illness or death.

Some studies have found that poor grip strength may even be a risk factor for decreased mobility later in life. Plus, having adequate grip strength is important for everyday activities such as opening jars, carrying suitcases, and for older people, or those with mobility impairments, holding onto a cane.

Spinal decompression and improved posture

Most of the activities and movements involved in our modern-day lifestyles compress our spine. This includes extended periods of sitting, carrying heavy objects, squatting, and even sleeping can compress the spine. As well as stretching your shoulders, hanging also decompresses and stretches the spine.

Since your upper body is stretched in a dead hang, so is your spine. It helps to decompress the back, keeping it aligned with the body by making it straight.

The dead-hanging posture puts some amount of traction on the spine and reduces compressive forces.  When both arms are holding the bar, the body’s weight is divided equally between the two. This helps to realign the body, straighten your back and correct any imbalances inadvertently created in the body. just hanging for a few moments is effective in decompressing the spine by opening up the space that has been lost between your bones, joints, and discs in your back.

Strengthens your core

Core strength is important to do any strength training exercise like push ups, planks or crunches. The dead hang helps improve your core power, as it’s a holistic exercise working all parts of the upper body from the back to the abdomen, from the arms to the shoulders. It increases your strength and endurance overall.

How to perform a dead hang

To perform a dead hang, follow these steps:

1. Use a secure overhead bar. Use a step or bench so you can easily reach the bar with your arms. You don’t want to jump straight into a dead hang.

2. Grip the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing away from you). Aim to keep your arms shoulder-width apart.

3. Move your feet off the step or bench so you’re hanging on to the bar.

4. Keep your arms straight. Don’t bend your arms and stay relaxed.

5. Don’t hold your breath. As with any exercise, breathing assists and compliments the movement. Apart from aiding blood flow, concentrated breathing will allow your body to fully relax into the hang.

6. Hang for 10-20 seconds if you’re new to the exercise. Work your way up to 45 seconds to 1 minute at a time.

7. Slowly step back onto the step or bench before releasing your arms. Repeat up to 3 times, if you wish.

Dr Kirsch, recommended hanging for up to 1.5 minutes per day, in whatever increments you can tolerate. This could be bouts of 10, 15, or 30 seconds depending on your grip strength.

Modified dead hang for beginners

If your current physical condition doesn’t allow you to hang from a bar with your feet off the ground, start with partial or reduced weight hangs. Put your feet on the ground or on a box (if you can’t reach the bar without your feet leaving the ground) and then bend your knees to lower yourself while still standing on your feet. As your strength improves, bend your knees more and allow more of your body weight to be supported by your arms, until you can hang with your feet off the ground.

As with any exercise, you might feel some pain while doing the hang. The important part is that the pain should be tolerable and not the kind that signals tearing or damage. Also, the pain should go away once you stop doing the exercise. And if not, you might need to have your shoulders examined by a qualified health care practitioner.

Acknowledge

John M. Kirsch, M.D., an Orthopedic Surgeon who has practiced general orthopedic medicine and surgery in Wisconsin for 33 years. He has performed clinical research on shoulder function for 28 years and has given lectures on the subject to physical therapists, physicians and other healthcare providers. Check out his website www.kirschshoulder.com for more.