Shoulder Pain Relief: How hanging from a bar can help sore shoulders

Last Friday I was waiting outside my daughter’s classroom for the bell to go for the end of school and was watching kids play on the playground.
I am always amazed watching kids use the monkey bars… It seems effortless for them.
If I asked you, “when was the last time you hung on a bar?” What would your answer be?
Would it be days, months or years?
After reading a book by Dr John Kirsch, an orthopaedic surgeon, called “Shoulder Pain, the prevention and Solution”, I have been hanging on a bar daily for the last several years…. And the results have been amazing.
I have hurt both my shoulders over the last couple of years and I can honestly say that hanging from a bar has made the biggest difference for me.
In the book Dr Kirsch describes a protocol that had a 98% success rate in one study.
People in the study suffered from shoulder impingement, frozen shoulder, rotator cuff tears and 98% returned to normal daily activities.
In this video I show you why you should hang on a bar, and what the protocol says to do (this is what has helped my shoulders).
So, if you have sore shoulders, then you need to watch this video.
If it has worked for me, hopefully it can work for you as well.
#shoulderpain #soreshoulders #hanging

[@Deecat88]

Great video. Very useful. Thanks

[@Bronze-td8jq]

Thank you very much for this video. Will this routine also help for shoulder arthritis?

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thank you for commenting. In the study mentioned in the book, several of the participants had osteoarthritis, so it could be helpful for shoulder arthritis. If you are unsure, always check with your health professional first.

[@grahamcotter108]

Excellent video thank you ! I have a partial supraspinatus tear . Is this protocol useful for me? Also how long did the participants in the study do the exercises for? Keep up the good work

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thank you for the comment. Some of the participants in the study had Rotator Cuff tears, so it should be okay, but it's always good to check with your health professional first. Sorry I don't have the book with me at the moment, and I can't remember exactly how long they did the exercises for in the study, but it was for a while. I will try find an answer for you. One of the main things I took from the book is that hanging is something you can do for the rest of your life. I still love to hang everyday.

[@issayousif4788]

The book recommends doing the hanging exercise daily by hanging for 10-30 seconds then resting for a minute and repeating for 10-15 minutes if you have shoulder problems, once your shoulders are good then you can do the protocol 2-3 times a week for maintenance

[@daveg4417]

I dislocated my left shoulder 25 years ago. I slipped on ice, the shoulder popped back in when I got up, but my arm went dead for an hour. I had a doctor look at it but they never did x-rays since I still had full mobility. The issue that I do have is that when I put my arm in some positions, it feels like scar tissue is pressing on a nerve. So I am hoping that hanging will help. I know that I should have done this many years ago.

[@pauls9783]

What a beautiful backdrop for filming.....I hang out at the bar - does that count :)

[@ElevateChiropractic]

It may help for a different reason, haha :)

[@heidiheidi311]

Thanks from Paris for your advices. I have a frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulite) so I cannot do the hanging one but I can start it with the arms outstretched, feet on thé ground. I subscribe to your channel because I like your simple and natural speaking!

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thank you for the comment and glad you like the videos. I hope your shoulder feels better soon

[@Markus-fw4px]

What does the book say about SLAP-lesion and bizeps-tendinosis?

[@wrongninja3847]

Dead hang with shoulders shugged up or packed shoulders with shoulders held down away from the ears? Thanks

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Hello, thanks for taking the time to comment. With the dead hang, you should be completely relaxed and the shoulders will be up around the ears. An active hang is a great next step where you engage the shoulders in the 'packed down' position. This is the starting position for pullups. I have found this to be really useful for working on shoulder stability and also improving my pull ups.

[@Madrinass]

Hey! Whats the dosing for this? Every day? Every second day?

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thanks for the comment. In the study they were doing it daily. If you are just wanting to maintain good function and not doing the full protocol, then every second day would be okay. For myself, I try and hang everyday, it just feels good to do that.

[@Madrinass]

@@ElevateChiropractic thank you for your time :) have a blessed week

[@Zeuse36]

Hi. I cannot lift my left arm above my neck. My ortho surgeoun suggested removing the shoulder bursa. He also said the bone is sloping/bent and it needs shaving. Does the bursa grow back. Is it a good idea to remove the bursa. Thanks

[@jlu11111]

Really glad I found this video. I had to quit boxing because of my pain in the left shoulder. Throwing jabs and left hooks would cause too much pain. I did PT for 6 weeks for shoulder impingement and tried to be conscious about keeping my shoulders back and didn’t fix the pain. I started today doing 30 second sets for atleast 2 minutes… i really hope within 1-2 months of doing this every day I can get back in the gym? Do you think it may take longer?

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thanks for the comment. I hope the hanging helps your shoulder. It really helped mine when I had my shoulder injury. Shoulder injuries can take a long time to heal, but hopefully you will notice some good changes in a few months.

[@jlu11111]

Really appreciate your reply! I’m gonna incorporate rotator cuff strengthening exercises I learned from my PT atleast 2 days a week on top of hangs 30 second sets, 2 minutes a day 7 days a week AT THE LEAST. Even tho just from doing one set of hangs I noticed my posture is much better. I do work at a desk and also game on my pc and I try my best to keep my shoulders back while sitting at my computer chair. Do you think it’s worth maybe a month from now of consistency of what i spoken of to see my orthopedic surgeon and get a cortisone shot to speed up recovery? I will pay out of pocket so about $600. I just really need to get back to boxing/sparring to increase my self confidence.. depression is killing me.

[@ElevateChiropractic]

@@jlu11111 Definitely try the hanging and the rotator cuff exercises. A cortisone shot wont necessarily speed up the recovery, but it would be worth consulting your orthopaedic surgeon if it is not changing after a month or so for their opinion on it. Also, hanging can be good for posture and decompressing the spine, especially if you sit a lot like you said you do. I hope it helps.

[@jlu11111]

Thank you, last question.. I was diagnosed with scapular dyskinesis.. do hangs work for this condition?

[@madhukararaghuveer8207]

Hi Iam having shoulder bursitis on left shoulder from past 3 years. Does hanging help in healing shoulder bursitis

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Hi there, Some of the participants in the trial had bursitis so hanging could help. Its best to start carefully and keep your feet on the ground initially. It's also a good idea to check with your health professional first.

[@madhukararaghuveer8207]

Thanks for your valuable feedback

[@joaustin1]

What do you mean by hanging for 10 to 15 minutes? Is that all at once or throughout the day?

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Hi John, thanks for the question. According to the protocol in the book you would hang for as long as you can, lets say 30 seconds, then you would stop and rest for a minute and then repeat the 30 second hanging and 1 minute rest. You would work through this cycle for the 10 to 15 minutes. I hope that makes sense. When I do this protocol I usually do it for around 10 minutes.

[@joaustin1]

@@ElevateChiropractic Ok thanks. I was thinking I would have to be in the hanging position for 15 minutes a day.

[@AR-82]

Assisted hangings or without ?​@@ElevateChiropractic

[@sumitkumarsahoo7601]

I used to do pull ups every day at least 60 and one day i have done enough pull ups and i was just hanging, suddenly my shoulder started paining . And doctor said it was a ligament problem. I have arrested the shoulder for 25 days. DOES THIS TIP WILL WORK FOR ME AS WELL?? PLS REPLY.

[@ElevateChiropractic]

If you have rested the shoulder, try a simple hang like described in the video and see how it feels. According to the protocol a little pain is okay, but if that pain is quite bad I would stop and get it assessed by a professional.

[@dougie-thugie]

Can one arm hang help faster?

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Hi, if you can do the two arm hang without pain or discomfort, you could try a one arm hang, although for most people, the two arm hang will be more than enough. I am working up to a one arm hang myself, although I need to be careful due to previous shoulder injuries.

[@JustGabe]

I'm trying this and see how it works for me.

[@ElevateChiropractic]

That's great, let me know how you get on. It has worked really well for me.

[@sarita3337]

Excellent site! I've joined.

[@ElevateChiropractic]

Thank you so much