Kinesiology THURSDAY – The Dead Arm Hang

The benefits of the dead arm hang in healing shoulder problems was brought to light by Dr. John Kirsch, orthopedic surgeon and author of Shoulder Pain: the Solution and Prevention. He said 95% of shoulder surgeries could be avoided by doing this one move. I was reminded of this as this challenge is currently being tried by our staff members. There is no shortage of benefits listed for hanging for a few seconds to a minute or more every day. But what intrigues me the most is how this fixes shoulder pain.

Rotator cuff impingement occurs when the supraspinatus is impinged under the coracoacromial arch, with pain occurring at the top of the shoulder with arm elevation or horizontal adduction.

The supraspinatus tendon runs under the arch in the range between 90˚-120˚ of arm elevation. The magic in the dead arm hang is what happens after 120˚ of elevation.

Dr. Kirsch mentions an acromiohumeral joint. He coined this term to describe the interaction between the humerus as it pushes on the acromion in end ranges of arm elevation (or in elevation past 120˚). With the arm in this position and the body weight hanging on it, it provides a strong, passive stretch to acromial elevation. Check out this video on his site showing the widening of the coracoacromial arch with the dead arm hang.

The dead arm hang also stretches the latissimus dorsi, one of common muscles that gets tight with increased thoracic kyphosis, limiting thoracic rotation and causing internal rotation of the humerus, a key combination in shoulder impingement.

Though there are several variations to hanging: passive (hanging) versus active (engaged scapula), wide versus narrow grip, in order to get maximum benefit for shoulder impingement, hanging passively with your arms closer together (versus a wider grip) should yield a better effect in stretching the acromiohumeral joint.

Conventional thinking says: Avoid end ranges of arm elevation in impingement syndrome.

Real World Thinking says: Get past the painful arc and use the dead arm hang to stretch the acromiohumeral joint and expand the space for the supraspinatus to live in. Also, just hang. Every day for a minute. You’ll get taller, stronger and healthier and the next time you see monkey bars, you’ll know what to do.

Hang often and every day.

Because nobody has time to be in pain.

Until next time…