Check your joint health in 'Gangnam Style'

By Song Sang-ho

Wellton Hospital President

Gangnam style has become the style of the world. Psy, a popular Korean singer, is winning global popularity with his song “Gangnam Style.” The U.S. drama “Glee Season 4” on Fox channel chose “Gangnam Style” as their cover dance, and the cast dances it in their preview, which is available on their website. Thew “Gangnam Style” music video is ranked as the second most watched on YouTube, and is expected to beat Justin Bieber’s “Baby” for top spot.

The horse-riding dance is the key point of “Gangnam Style.” This dance is composed of shuffle dance steps and swinging hand and arm motion as if riding a horse. The dancer keeps his back straight, has both knees bent a little bit, and then each leg takes a step in turn. This horse-riding dance is not only fun and joyful but also helps the joints.

The horse-riding dance is good for the women who are vulnerable to osteoporosis. Stepping with both legs naturally gives bounce to the body. Bouncing actions give weight loading to the bones, and prevent osteoporosis. The bones can get stronger with dancing just like mountain climbing, walking, or jogging because of the repetitive weight loading on the bones. The early stages of osteoporosis do not have any particular symptom, and it is only found after breaking a bone, which can be quite dangerous. Women after menopause are highly vulnerable to osteoporosis, and when the condition is not taken care of, the risk of bone breaking with minimal trauma like a simple fall increases. Therefore, prevention through everyday exercise is essential.

It is also helpful for people with sacroiliac symptoms. Sacroiliac symptoms refer to those that come from injury to the sacroiliac joints, which connect the pelvis with the ilium and the pelvic bones. The major role of this joint is to shift the body weight from one side to the other while walking. When this joint is under pressure or overly used for a long time, the joints can get dislocated, causing inflammation and pain. The symptom is usually seen in middle-aged housewives and athletes who use one side of the body such as golfers, and soccer or tennis players. However, the horse-riding dance makes the dancers bow down and use the knees and ankles to bounce, which naturally loads the body weight on the lower extremity joints. The sacroiliac joints can also get stronger, and inflammation and pain in the joints can be prevented.

However, exercise can be harmful to the joints when it is done in the wrong posture or over-done. If you have weak knee joints, be careful with the horse-riding dance. Taking a saddle stance is the key to the dance, but this posture can cause pain in the knee joints. When you lower your body down too much or have the knees in front of the feet, the loading in the knees increases, and becomes harmful to the joint. If there is any pain while dancing “Gangnam Style,” there is a high chance that you have a knee joint-related disease. Go see a doctor.

You should also be careful in choosing shoes. In normal walking, 1.5 times the body weight is loaded on the feet, three times when running, and five times when jumping. Shoes need to ease the loading in the feet. Hence, wear sneakers. In the “Gangnam Style” music video all the women are dancing in high heels. This is very dangerous to the joints. Wearing high heels and dancing the horse-riding dance can cause injury to the feet and ankle joints, and this can lead to knee joint damage or cruciate ligament rupture. When this is neglected and not treated, it can lead to early degenerative arthritis. It is the same for high heeled sneakers.

If you’re planning on practicing the horse-riding dance to get closer with your children, check your body weight first. If you’re overweight or have abdominal obesity, the dance can be harmful to your knees and ankle joints. You can get hurt dancing. For the middle-aged, do not bend down too much, and keep it light at your joints.

“Gangnam Style” is still hot and there are people who want to learn it for upcoming seasonal gatherings and parties. Trying to be a trendsetter is good but be careful not to hurt your joints with excessive dancing. Always spend enough time for stretching before dancing. The fun lasts for a few minutes, but damaged joints can grow old with you.