Russian Kettlebells: Effective Tools For Today’s Therapists From Russia’s Past

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By Susan DiMeo

The Kettlebell Is An Effective Tool In The Rehabilitation Of Injuries

“The following story is true, it happened to me; but I believed it was important enough to share it. A few months ago, I tore the tendon below my right tricep a short distance above my elbow. The MRI showed about a 70% tear, and my orthopedic physician made my two options very clear: surgery (with about a year recovery) or therapy.

Being a certified personal trainer and defense instructor, I could not wait a year to regain full use of my arm. Thank God I chose therapy; but using a less traveled path.”

The above statements are from my husband, Frank DiMeo. He has given his permission to share this with whoever can be helped by this information.

Enter The Kettlebell

“Shoulder injuries are virtually unheard of in the Russian armed forces.”

So what’s this all about, and why kettlebells? Let me start out by describing a kettlebell. A kettlebell looks like a cannonball with a handle; they range in size from 4kg (about 9lbs) to over 40kg (almost 90 lbs).

Ted Keating, Ph.D., CSCS and professor at Manhattan College Department of Physical Education and Human performance puts it very clearly when he says: “The uniquely shaped KB has a mass center which will be arranged much more distally to the joint than that of a dumbbell. The additional lever created by placing the resistance distal to the handle also provides a unique challenge to the nervous system, as well as to the grip. The result: The athlete will need to encounter much greater inertial forces. This may provide a distinct advantage when attempting to transfer strength gains to athletic tasks with a strong inertial component, i.e., baseball pitching, golf swing, all the Olympic lifts, etc.” (1)

Kettlebells are great for developing strength, because of the handle you can move the weight from hand to hand easily with LE wt. Shift and other body movements. Moving in multiple planes during one exercise, like circling your head 360 degrees strengthens all the deltoids, while the trunk and LE’s are co-contracting to stabilize your body. Functionally, I think “Wow! What great training!”. As an Occupational Therapist, my brain goes into activity analysis of how I lifted an offset load out of a top cabinet (being only 5’2″) with my trunk and LE working to make the task possible.

Injury prevention is another vital aspect of kettlebell training. As John Fitmore states, “Shoulder injuries are virtually unheard of in the Russian armed forces.” (2) Improving coordination with kettlebells is very pronounced due to the fact that they can be thrown and caught, as well as being passed around the body from different angles.

My husband, Frank, requested that his Physical Therapist utilize kettlebells during his rehab at HealthSouth Bee Ridge Outpatient Center in Sarasota , Florida . He was pleased when Donna Bordeaux agreed. Donna and Linda make a great PT team, their creativity and enthusiasm helped bring fast results for Frank.

When his PT sessions came to a close, he still had a goal of moving up to a 28kg (62lb) within the following month (plus being able to do one-arm pushups) which he did accomplish!

This is why Frank believes it worked so well, according to Dr. Paul Juris, “…as the characteristics of a task move from simple to complex, MU recruitment strategies change from simplistic linear patterns and frequency, to synchronized, to complex and selective”. (3) He also said praying helped, he is living proof of that.

Dave Ganulin, founder and CEO of Kettlebell Concepts, Inc. says, “The nervous system is designed to produce synergistic, multi-muscle, multi-joint movements, not to be trained in isolation. When a movement is produced, it is the result of exciting and inhibiting the right motor units in the correct sequence, for the correct amount of time-this is called functional synergy.” (4)

On a personal note, I have found that training with kettlebells prior to my knee surgery to remove parts of a torn meniscus helped me recover much faster. After only two weeks I could walk a mile and a half , and of course, resume my own kettlebell training.

About the author

Susan DiMeo is a contributing writer to Kettlebell.com. Her bio is coming soon.

Click here to read more about Susan DiMeo and to read her other articles.