Is the ‘Dead Hang’ the answer to longevity, shoulder and back pain?

We are all looking for a ‘quick fix’ or something that you can do in a minimal amount of time that will make the most difference. Whether this is to get rid of pain in the body or make yourself healthier. Whilst there are no magic exercises, in recent times I have come across something you can spend 90 seconds a day doing that will genuinely make a big difference to your health, longevity and any ailments you may have. Its called the ‘dead hang.’

What is The Dead Hang?

The dead hang is when you hang from a bar. Don’t stop reading if you think this looks too difficult or unrealistic for you. There are different ways to do this exercises ranging from beginner to advanced, which I will explain fully later.

Shoulder Health

The shoulder is an area where a lot of people experience pain. In your shoulder joint you have something called the subacromial space. This is basically a gap between the bones in the area. As you move your arms (reaching overhead is often the most painful movement) your bones move, and therefore the space in between them changes.

Attaching every muscle to a bone is a tendon, which you have several of in your shoulder. If the subacromial space narrows over time, which it can for various reasons such as spending hours a day sitting at a desk with poor posture, these tendons get pinched, rub and even begin to fray. This is usually where the pain comes in. Inflammation or wearing of the tendon.

When you do the dead hang you can stretch the tendons in the shoulder, under the load of your body weight, without them pinching. It’s this ‘weighted stretching’ that makes all the difference. Most stretches we do are not weighted and comparatively make little difference. You are able to exercise, stretch and reshape the tendons, surrounding muscles and bones.

The goal should be to create more space (in the subacromial space) for those tendons to move and operate. If you can achieve this you stop the pinching and rubbing and stop the pain. If this sounds like it applies to you I would strongly recommend you read Dr John Kirsch’s book ‘Shoulder Pain. The Solution and Prevention.’ He goes into a lot more detail about how and why it works. As well as plenty of case studies showing scans of the changes in patients subacromial space achieved by following this technique.

Back Health

This technique has also been shown to be highly beneficial for your back/spine health. Most of our daily activities compress the spine. Sitting for long periods being the prime example. Dead Hanging decompresses the spine, i.e. undoes the damage your lifestyle may have created. The technique basically realigns the body and corrects any imbalances that may have been involuntarily created. It opens up the space between your bones, discs and joints.

Grip Strength

An overlooked area for most people. Improving grip strength will help you with your weight training, but also with every day tasks such as opening jars. And in fact good grip strength has actually been linked to greater longevity in certain studies such as this one. So it’s well worth it.

How To Do It?

Basically hang from a bar! Grip the bar about shoulder width apart, and hold on as tight as you can. Make sure you keep your arms straight and your back straight.
It’s absolutely fine to use your feet on the floor to start with while you build up your strength. Just make sure you keep your body fully extended and over time reduce the weight you are taking through your feet until you feel ready to lift them totally off the floor.

Aim to build up to 90 seconds a day. But it doesn’t have to be in 1 go. Take as many efforts as you need with a short rest between each. But I would recommend starting with 30 seconds a day and add 5/10 seconds a day until you get up to 90 seconds.

Conclusion – Is the ‘Dead Hang’ the answer to longevity, shoulder and back pain?

Of course on its own nothing is ‘the answer.’ But making this part of your daily routine will make a significant difference to the health of your body, the pain you may be experiencing, and even your longevity.