Chinese pensioners hang themselves on high bars by the NECK and dangerously swing their bodies to treat spinal pain
- Bizarre trend gaining popularity in China sees people dangling from harnesses
- They are seen swinging their bodies on improvised cervical traction devices
- Many people who have tried the routine claim it has healed their neck pain
- Experts say people should limit their time on the contraption to avoid injuries
A bizarre exercise trend has recently gained popularity in China which sees fitness fanatics dangling themselves from high bars by the neck on a harness.
Images and videos show participants, most of them pensioners, swinging their bodies back and forth on improvised cervical traction devices attached to high bars at public parks.
Many people who have tried the out-of-the-box contraption claim it has healed their neck and back pains, according to Chinese reports.
Sun Rongchun, 57, exercises with an improvised cervical traction device attached to a high bar at a sports complex in Shenyang, Liaoning province in north-easty China
Many people who have tried the out-of-the-box contraption claimed it has healed their neck and back pains, according to Chinese reports
Sun and his friend Hou Yindong, 76, exercise on the bizarre contraption as others look on
One 68-year-old woman living in Qingdao, Shandong province said the device helps her stretch out her neck.
‘The routine has healed my spinal issues. I don’t have to take medication anymore,’ Song Lianyun told video news site Pear, adding that she ‘hangs herself’ from the harness on the exercise bar for 30 minutes every day.
Video footage shows the pensioner carefully placing her head between two straps, one of them under her jaw and one of them at the nape of her neck.
Many people who have tried the routine claimed it has healed their neck pain
Video footage shows pensioner Song Lianyun, 68, carefully placing her head between two straps, one of them under her jaw and one of them at the nape of her neck
‘The routine has healed my spinal issues. I don’t have to take medication anymore,’ Song said, adding that she ‘hangs herself’ from the harness on the exercise bar for 30 minutes every day
After securing the ropes to the high bar, she then kicks away the stool she was standing on to allow her dangle in mid-air.
‘I can even take a nap on it. It’s so comfortable,’ she said.
Other park-goers said they were horrified when they first saw the bizarre exercise.
‘It just looks so dangerous and frightening, strapping in your neck like that,’ one man said.
Such neck cervical traction devices is said to be able to relieve pain by stretching the vertebrae of the cervical spine and neck, reducing pressure on the nerves.
Some park-goers said they were horrified when they first saw the bizarre exercise
Experts warned that people adjusting their body this way could experience side effects such as headache, dizziness and nausea. There is also a risk of tissue, neck and spine injuries
The traction pulls one’s head away from your neck to create expansion and eliminate compression and could be used as part of a physical treatment at home, according to Healthline.
However, experts also warned that people adjusting their body this way could experience side effects such as headache, dizziness and nausea.
There is also a risk of tissue, neck or spine injuries if the traction is performed more than 30 minutes. Big movements should also be avoided.