I have suffered through my fair share of injuries. I’ve had a fractured wrist, hip impingement, tendonitis in a few places, and yes, herniated discs in my back.

I know what you’re thinking “of course you have! “ And now you’re probably thinking “this is I shouldn’t use kettlebells or lift weights, I’ll get hurt”. 

You might be surprised to hear this, but NONE of these injuries were the result of kettlebells. In fact most of them happened while I wasn’t lifting weights at all.

I fractured my wrist falling on my out splayed hand while in a class that STRAPPED ME TO A BUNGEE CORD RESISTANCE BAND THING AND HAND ME DOING LATERAL SPRINTS. Sound dumb? That’s because it was. And as previously noted, involved zero kettlebells.

My hip impingement is the result of a boney growth at the head of my femur. It’s completely random and can happen to anyone at any time. If I wasn’t an active person I might not have been so eager to solve it and could have unknowingly caused enough damage to eventually need a hip replacement.

I herniated discs in my lumbar spine (lower back) doing a friend’s Instagram challenge. It wasn’t even a stupid show off challenge. It was just a HIIT workout with random moves that I didn’t understand (which is why proper instruction with exercise is PARAMOUNT). Again, if this sounds stupid, it’s because it was.

Oh, and I got ankle and wrist tendonitis from running outside after months of not running during quarantine and from spending way too many hours on my electronics because of quarantine, respectively.

What do all of these injuries have in common, besides the fact that they all made me very angry? Kettlebells were imperative in helping me recover and stay pain free after the fact!

So when people ask me if kettlebells will hurt them, or say they’re scared of kettlebells because they don’t want to get hurt, I understand where they’re coming from, but I have to say no. If uses properly kettlebells shouldn’t hurt you.

I won’t get into the particulars about how kettlebells helped me recover and stay stronger than ever (future posts to come on that!). But I would like to explain why you might be experiencing pain while using kettlebells and why these tools can help you build strength and stay pain free.

First off, if there is pain, it’s the same reason you’d have pain from any other form of exercise:

• There’s a problem with your form

• You lack mobility to do the exercise

• You’re not ready for the exercise/weight you’ve chosen
  

Now, if you are in pain and think any of the above might be the culprit, get professional help! Hire a coach who specializes in kettlebells, holds a kettlebell certification, and demonstrates a high level of competency and knowledge about the tool (hello, hi, reach out if this is you!)

But if you’re not currently in pain, and you just THOUGHT kettlebells would hurt you, I’m here to dispel the myth.

With proper coaching you’ll learn how to do kettlebell exercises that are right for your body and those exercises will help make you strong from the inside out. That’s right, kettlebells help you be pain free by strengthening your core with every movement. 

The unique design of the bell demands prep work that creates a stable core and then strengthen it with exercises like the Kettlebell Swing, Turkish Get-up, Goblet Squat, and Kettlebell Clean, (the list goes on!)

Example: The kettlebell handle allows for ballistic (explosive) swings. These swings require the core to be fully engaged in order to protect the spine. Proper core engagement means the ab wall is on, pelvic floor is activated, and glutes are squeezing at the right time. This all leads to the core become incredibly strong.

A strong core = decreased pain. My clients who do kettlebell swings properly report decreased back and hip pain as a result of their strengthened cores.

The shape of the bell also makes it a super safe tool because it’s hard to hold it in a way that will encourage bad form and when you do have bad form with kettlebells, it’s very obvious. That’s not to say that it’s easy to have proper form, but in my opinion, a kettlebell is easier to hold than dumbbells or barbells.

Example: An overhead press is easier to do properly with a kettlebell than a dumbbell for two main reasons. 

1. The dumbbells side to side weight distribution allows you to hold it away from the body and the wide weight almost makes it difficult to have it close. This makes people often do the dumbbell press very wide which can cause shoulder pain. Since the kettlebell only sits on the outside of the wrist it allows for the bell to start and end very close to the shoulder/ear and avoids unnecessary shoulder tension from being too wide.

2. While holding weights you want to have a neutral or straight wrist. If your wrist gets extended back it can cause a lot of of pain. Dumbbells are almost impossible to hold with neutral grip, wrist flexion is a given. However, the handle on a kettlebell allows for the wrist to be held completely straight.
   

If you found this post interesting, keep an eye out for the next one on how I used kettlebells to heal my back pain!