If you suffer from chronic shoulder pain, you’re not alone.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common cause of disability, and shoulder pain is the third most common kind.
But you can beat it – safely and naturally. Without:
* Surgery
* Cortisone shots
* Other anti-inflammatory drugs
* Pain medications
* Massages
* Heat
* Vibration
* Electric currents
* Unnatural stretching
This simple technique works for chronic shoulder pain caused by a torn rotator cuff, rotator cuff pinching, frozen shoulder, subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS), and osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral joint.
Dr. John Kirsch of the Kirsch Institute for Shoulder Research discovered the technique in the 1980s. He’d spent many hours performing surgeries with his hands and arms locked in a tight position, and this caused severe pain in his shoulders.
Once he figured out the solution, he healed himself and passed the word on to his patients. In March 2012, he presented a paper on his work to a joint Australian and American meeting of medical societies focused on the hands and upper extremities.
Dr. Kirsch reported on the 92 patients he followed who suffered from chronic shoulder pain caused by the above conditions. Most of them had endured pain for years.
Two of the subjects left the study for personal reasons. The other 90 were able to go back to being comfortable with their daily activities. Two of them canceled scheduled shoulder surgeries.
They included a 70-year-old woman who was again able to drive a car with a stick shift. Within a year, she returned to cross-country skiing.
Disclaimer:
This technique for not recommended if you have dislocating or unstable shoulders, you’re in fragile health, or you have severe osteoporosis.
I’m Also a Testimonial
Some years ago, I developed pain in my right shoulder. Sometimes it woke me up during the night.
I searched online and found Dr. Kirsch’s book on Amazon: Shoulder Pain? The Solution and Prevention.
I followed his advice, and within 2-3 months, my shoulder pain was history.
Therefore, it’s not the instant, overnight solution everybody wants, but neither is surgery.
I practiced the main technique Dr. Kirsch advocates nearly every day, but I was hit or miss when it came to the exercises.
And I have not suffered even one twinge of shoulder discomfort since that time.
It’s simple, but not easy.
In fact, it’s intensely painful – but only for short periods.
I want to be upfront about that, as Dr. Kirsch is in his book.
Even though it hurts, it’s good for you.
And, as the technique returns your shoulder joint to its natural, correct formation, the pain goes down.
It is true, however, that during the first 5 seconds I tried it, I experienced the most excruciating pain of my life – and I’ve had kidney stones.
After catching my breath, however, I tried it again – and the pain, though still severe, but not as bad.
I kept at it every morning until I forgot because I no longer felt the shoulder pain during the rest of my day (or night).
The Main Part of the Kirsch Protocol
It’s hanging by your hands.
Just let gravity pull your weight down while you hold on to a bar, pipe, or tree branch overhead.
I found a playground with a swingset. The top bar was just the right height for me to reach up and grab.
Because it wasn’t high, my feet remained on the ground. I just bent my knees, so my hands held my weight.
Do that for ten to fifteen seconds, then rest. Repeat for around four to five minutes.
You’re stretching the arch of ligament and bone called the coracoacromial arch – the CA arch.
As you keep hanging by your hands, every day, if you can, you’re reshaping the bones and ligaments in your shoulders. You’re returning them to their natural, pain-free state.
And hanging by your hands places your rotator cuff muscles in a relaxed position.
That’s all verified by CT scans.
The Minor Part of the Kirsch Protocol
Buy a pair of small hand weights, from 1-8 pounds.
I tried 5 pounds at first, but that was too heavy, so I went down to 2 pounds.
Keeping your palms down, lift the weights in front of you to the height of your shoulders, to the side of you and behind you.
Do 35-40 repetitions of each position – once a day.
Frankly, I wasn’t diligent about this part. But if you are, it will strengthen your shoulder muscles to help prevent future problems.
If you don’t suffer from shoulder pain now, do some hanging every once in a while. Or just swing your arms around.
Use your shoulders’ full pain-free mobility – or lose it.
