The dead hang has been widely promoted by influencers in the fitness and health space as a simple cure for everything. One of the proclaimed benefits is spinal decompression.
Is that really a thing? Does hanging stretch your spine? In short, yes, it does. In this post, we explain to you why spinal decompression is real and in which cases it can be useful to you.
Finally, we give you a very underrated bonus tip on how to increase the effectiveness of the spinal decompression during the hanging exercise.
Table of Contents
What is a Dead Hang?
A dead hang is an exercise during which you hang onto something, using only your hands. Typically, this will be a pull up bar but some people also use rings or other objects. If you are very in touch with nature, you might prefer a stable tree branch, that grows parallel to the floor.
You grip the object with your hands overhead and hold on with your body as relaxed as possible. As a result, your legs are hanging down inline with the torso, pointing to the floor.
There are different ways the hanging exercise is executed, depending on its purpose.
Does Hanging Decompress the Spine?
Your spine consists of many vertebrae that are separated by discs acting as cushions.
During the day, your your body weight compresses your spine slightly, reducing the space between your vertebrae.
Studies have shown that people lose about 16.4 mm (approximately 0.65 inches) of height after spending eight hours in an upright position. That height is regained during the night while lying down.
Most of this height change is attributed to changes in the spinal structure.
The hanging exercise has a decompressing effect on your spine, similar to traction therapy.
Here is how it works:
By holding on to the object on top of you, your upper body is anchored to it. Since your feet are not connected to the floor, or carry only minimal weight, gravity does its work and pulls your body down.
The opposing forces physically elongate your spine. This restores the space lost between your vertebrae, decompressing your spine.
Maximize Spinal Decompression with this Trick: Lifting Straps
The more tension you hold in your upper body, the more your muscles will limit the decompressing forces.
If spinal decompression is the goal when performing a dead hang, you should try to relax your body while hanging. This can be challenging, mainly because of the immense grip strength you have to produce.
The act of holding on will not only activate the muscles in your hands and forearms, but also your shoulders, back, and core are firing.
This is great if you want to train your shoulder and core stability. If spinal decompression is your aim, however, this can be counterproductive.
In this case, using weight straps can be a game changer. By assisting your grip, it becomes much easier to hold onto the bar or rings and you can relax your upper body.
There are a lot of different lifting straps with slightly different mechanics but they all have the same function and do their job. Which one you will choose comes down to personal preference.
Hanging with Your Feet on the Floor
Another common problem is that the pulling force is too strong. This can either also result in increased tension in the body or even result in discomfort or pain in the shoulders, lats, and chest.
A simple fix for this issue is to make sure your feet are not dangling in the air but have something to stand on.
If the bar is low enough and you can still reach the floor with your feet, that’s perfect. If you’re holding on to something that is higher up, place a box, stool, or similar object underneath, that you can reach with your feet.
You’ll want to find a balance, using your feet to take off just enough weight to achieve an adequate pulling force. As you become more comfortable with the position during the exercise, you can try to gradually remove more weight from your feet.
Over time, you might eventually progress to the point where you don’t need your feet as an assistance any more.
Benefits of Spinal Decompression
The process of elongating your spine creates more space within its structure. As a result, more fluid can flow between discs and vertebrae. This increase in fluids helps your spine to maintain itself.
Moreover, it takes load off your intervertebral discs which slows down their degenerative process.
Traction therapy, which also decompresses the spine, is commonly used to treat:
- slipped discs
- bone spurs
- degenerative disc disease
- herniated discs
- facet disease
- sciatica
- foramina stenosis
- pinched nerves
If you suffer from any of those conditions, make sure to first consult a doctor about the safety of the hanging exercise in your specific case.
Does Hanging Relieve Back Pain?
For some people, decompressing the spine can be an effective treatment for chronic back pain and sometimes cause instant pain relieve.
Spinal decompression can be particularly beneficial for elderly people, athletes who regularly lift heavy weights, and physical laborers if they suffer from discomfort due to a stiff spine.
If you feel stiff and rigid in your back, you could give it a try.
Often, the feeling of stiffness is also caused by a lack of movement. Therefore, mobilizing the spine can be beneficial as well.
When Decompression Should be Avoided
First of all, it is important that you keep your spine safe. So if you suffer from chronic or acute back pain, you should talk to a doctor and find out if you can safely perform dead hangs. This is especially important if you know that you suffer from spinal injuries or diseases, like a bulging disc.
Apart from that, spinal decompression is not an effect treatment for back pain that is caused by a stability issue. If you suffer from instability, hanging from a bar can even intensify the pain instead of improving it.
If you try the hanging exercise and feel an increase in pain, it may indicate a stability problem. In that case, exercises that stabilize your spine and core will be the better choice.
Conclusion
The dead hang does decompress your spine. It is a good exercise for people who suffer from a rigid spine and resulting discomfort and pain.
For people with instability, however, spinal decompression can be counterproductive and is best avoided.
