Hanging as a Solution
Forgotten Subconscious Fat
Hanging is a solution to shoulder problems.
“Hold on.” Mr. Skeptical raises both hands, rudely interrupting as usual. “You’re talking about shoulder pain in this newsletter?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Why don’t you mention shoulder pain in the title?”
“Because I don’t want to make titles longer than they need to.”
“It makes one think that you’re writing about suicide or the terrible racial history of hangings in the United States, especially since the subtitle is Forgotten Subconscious Fat.”
“Maybe, Mr. Skeptical, you have some deep negative Subconscious Fat making titles appear to be something else. Maybe you’re jumping to the worst possible conclusion about things.”
I wanted to mention how he’s always negative about everything I write, but I shut up.
He continues. “Maybe you should be clearer on what the newsletter is about.”
“The title is in. Can you shut up and let me get this newsletter started?”
He doesn’t respond. He looks away, pissed.
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 ft
A simple solution can fix about 90-95% of shoulder problems. The answer is simply to hang.
How can this be?
I’m sure you’re asking, if this were true, then wouldn’t orthopedic surgeons recommend hanging to fix most shoulder problems?
No, many wouldn’t because it would take lots of money away from them. Two things make the world go around. One is love, and the other is money. If it takes away someone’s money, why would they shoot themselves in the foot? Many orthopedic surgeons love financial gains. So, they get caught up thinking that alternative solutions aren’t based on real science.
At a subconscious level, many doctors would find it inconvenient to recommend an alternative solution. After all, surgery can be an easy and painless procedure for the doctor–less so for the patient. Shoulder surgery is now recognized as a separate sub-specialty. There’re many surgical solutions, like arthroscopy, arthroplasty, and stem cell therapy, and all these procedures require (in most cases) an orthopedist.
This would be similar to asking an Exxon oil executive back in the 90s about climate change. They’d likely deny it existed.
But let’s look at an even better example, cigarette manufacturers. In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry released a report linking smoking cigarettes to lung cancer. But even before that, since the 1950s, there have been studies connecting cigarettes to bad health.
Only after Supreme Court rulings against cigarette manufacturers did they admit that cigarettes could be deadly and addictive.
Could orthopedic surgeons purposefully not want to admit that a simple solution like hanging could eliminate the majority of shoulder surgeries?
I don’t know. I’m sure it varies greatly depending on which ortho surgeon you ask. However, medicine's recent history of saying that opioids aren’t addictive, which led to many deaths, doesn’t give me much hope that all doctors and scientists are ethical.
However, ethical or not may not be the question to ask. It might be more about not wanting to know or not being exposed to the information. Many doctors are too busy to keep learning new health information and research, especially if it might take money away from them.
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
“Wait!”
Before I can start this section, Mr. Skeptical rudely interrupts again.
“You were a chiropractor for twenty-two years. I’m sure you saw things that weren’t always ethical in that profession.”
I sigh. Why can’t he just leave me alone? “Yes, some could view aspects of the profession as unethical.”
“Please, do tell.”
“Chiropractic was always a completely separate profession from medicine. Chiropractic philosophy is the opposite of medicine, yet many chiropractors used to get arrested for practicing medicine without a license. Now there are two separate camps in chiropractic: those who want to be more medically oriented and those who don’t. The part of the profession wanting to mix more with medicine is known as ‘mixers’; does who don’t are called ’straights.’
“How does this show the morally wrong aspect of chiropractic?”
“Well, that’s a relative question. For example, some chiropractors view certain therapies as unnecessary, so they assume chiropractors using them are doing so to pad up the insurance bill. And I’m sure in many cases that’s true.”
Mr. Skeptical’s lips are protruding with his hand under his chin, mimicking the thinking emoji. “Give me an example of how someone would use a therapy to pad up a bill.”
“Take something like the simple use of applying ice to an injured area. This is always a debate. Someone has a minor fender-bender with resulting neck pain. Many would favor putting ice on the neck area to decrease swelling. It’s a valid argument; a clinic would charge for that. But from a chiropractic view, ice isn’t the best idea because the swelling in the injured area is an essential part of the healing process. So what do you do?”
“I guess it all depends on what you believe to be more important or better. But I’m sure for most, it’s also about what can be billed more.”
“Exactly, thank you. The same argument can be made for almost all therapies like massage, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and traction. Not that these therapies aren’t useful, they are, but most clinicians will overuse them to charge more, descending into the gray area of unscrupulousness.”
“Okay, so what kind of chiropractor were you?”
I sigh and suppress fantasies of murder. “When I had my clinic, I only used massage and traction because I believed they were helpful. When I worked for other clinics, typically, more therapies were used. Can you stop asking me more questions?”
“Fine. I’ll stop for now.”
This newsletter is being written because there’s Subconscious Fat that we used to hang often as children. Like how often children laugh (a lot more than adults), as we grow up, we forget to hang. Not hanging can lead to shoulder problems.
Before you jump to the conclusion that this is a crazy idea, let me tell you about John M. Kirsch, MD, who is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon. He claims that simply hanging can often prevent shoulder surgery. He even went so far as to write a book about how it prevents and can eliminate shoulder pain.
I’ll discuss soon how hanging can prevent shoulder surgery, but before we get into that, I want to explain some of the other benefits of hanging.
The best way to start hanging is to place the hands pronated on a bar, meaning the palms face outward. This is the most natural way of hanging. It’s what you commonly see kids doing on the playground.
From an evolutionary standpoint, we evolved from doing lots of hanging. However, as homo sapiens, we usually lose that natural inclination to hang as we got older. In today’s world, it’s even more critical due to the computer and social media revolution.
Most of us spend too much time looking at our screens on our smartphones or computers–I’m guilty of this too. This creates a hunched-over posture. Chiropractors often call this Forward Head Syndrome. In addition to an increased curved mid-back, our necks straighten more to compensate. This means we lose the natural arch in the neck, meaning our neck becomes too straight. A straight neck means one is more prone to soreness and injury. Hanging provides decompression to the spine, which can help reduce bad posture, including a straight neck and hunched mid-back.
Subconscious Fat at Eye-level
Now the surprise with what John M Kirsch, MD, says is that hanging can prevent and often cure shoulder pain. His book titled Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention claims to do just that. The reasoning for this is that most orthopedic surgeons will agree that about 90-95% of shoulder pain is due to Subacromial Impingement Syndrome (SAS).
In fact, many experts also say that SAS can lead to shoulder tears, meaning the original cause was really SAS. The acromion bone sticks out to form the clavicle in the upper front part of our shoulder. Another bone called the coracoid process is lower and inward to the acromion bone. The coracoid process is a bone that sticks out in front of the shoulder area to attach tendons and ligaments.
There’s a ligament that connects the acromion bone to the coracoid process. So what usually happens with shoulder problems is an impingement of tissue between the acromion and coracoid processes.
However, Kirsch states that hanging remodels the gap between these two areas. Hanging will enlarge the opening, allowing for impingement to decrease. Consequently, this eliminates the need for surgical intervention.
Nevertheless, like many things in life, one has to do the hanging properly and consistently. Hanging, palms facing outward, one can start with 10 seconds of hanging. If one already has shoulder pain, Dr. Kirsch claims that some pain is okay and to hang as much as can be tolerated. He claims the hanging will not cause further injury to the shoulder.
One can use a stool to avoid hanging with full body weight. Little by little, one should increase the hanging duration to the point where one is doing it 10-15 minutes a day. Not all at once, of course, but up to 30 seconds to one minute at a time at first.
Hanging from trees is excellent because the variation in tree branches offers a great workout for grip and forearm strength.
My training clients often do timed hanging sessions after an upper-body workout. This is fantastic as a general stretch and offers the added benefit of decompressing the spine.
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
If you have shoulder pain, then order the book Shoulder Pain? The Solution and Prevention by John M. Kirsch, MD. He’s not an affiliate of mine, so I’m not receiving any payment for mentioning his book.
After an upper body workout, I’d suggest hanging for about as long as possible to finish with a good stretch. Start with two sets, then build up to four stretching sets as you get used to it.
To conclude, throw in hanging as part of your after-workout stretching, and recommend to others with shoulder pain the book or to look seriously into hanging. You might save a friend a lot of money, including the health risks of most surgical procedures.
And…if you, the reader, are an orthopedic surgeon, then…
“Wait, wait, wait.” Yells Mr. Skeptical. He gets up, showing the corniness of his white suit and hat. Waving his cane at me as he continues to shout. “Isn’t there something out there that might remove the need for chiropractic care?”
I dream of kung-fu Bruce Lee-type movies. Where the hero hits an opponent in the side temple area of the head, killing him instantly.
“Well!” Mr. Skeptical yells, leaning forward and putting his hands on my desk. His crystal blue eyes are slightly bloodshot. A bead of sweat rolls down past his temple area, which I’d like to hit.
I smile at the thought and answer him. “Many experts agree that if you do yoga, you’ll likely need less chiropractic care or none.”
“And did you recommend that when you were a chiropractor?”
“Yes, I often did, but most patients wanted to get a quick fix and not bother going to yoga classes.”
“Don’t you think some surgeons might have the same problem if they tell their patients to hang?”
“Of course. I’m sure that happens all the time. I’m not being a hypocrite if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Mr. Skeptical straightens up, appearing a little more relaxed. “I’m just making sure we get the full truth from you and your past professional experience. That’s all. Which reminds me, when will you tell the readers how you went from being a chiropractor to a trainer?”
I clench my hands, grit my teeth and decide to leave. I get up and walk out.
This is Mr. Skeptical writing now. I love it when I get Hermann pissed off, and he leaves. It allows me to communicate directly with you, our readers. Don’t worry. I know I can make him reveal the drama of how he went from being a chiropractor to a trainer.
Meanwhile, readers, remember… be aware.
Very entertaining and informative. You have inspired my wife and I to order a pull-up bar for our doorway so that we can hang on it regularly.
I love this! Thanks for giving us your knowledge and I will have my husband read this as well because he suffers from back and shoulder pain!