'Slickback' dance can hurt your knees, doctors say

The viral "Slickback," or "Jubi slide" dance challenge can cause serious damage to your knees, medical experts warn.

A Daegu middle school student, Lee Hyo-cheol, demonstrates the "slickback" dance in a video he uploaded on TikTok. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The viral "Slickback," or "Jubi slide" dance challenge can cause serious damage to your knees and ankles, medical experts warn.

They say that those who do the challenge should be careful since injuries can easily occur due to the dance move's strain on knees and ankles.

Actor Jeon Hye-bin posted a photo of her wearing a cast on her leg after sustaining an injury from practicing the Slickback dance. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Actor Jeon Hye-bin posted a photo on her social media on Oct. 30 wearing a cast on her leg after injuring herself while practicing the move.

"Don't ever practice the slickback on a slippery surface such as parking lots," she said in her post, adding she was an "idiot" for doing so.

Lee Dong-nyeong, an orthopedician at Mokdong Himchan Hospital, said the move can cause damage to one's knees and ankles.

"The slickback dance, involving jumping and spinning while crossing both legs, can cause ankle sprains and a variety of knee injuries, including bruises," Lee said. "The ankles and knees should be stretched before [doing the dance], and it is safest not to overdo it."

He added it should be done on surfaces that are not slippery.

Injuries the dance can cause include patellar tendon rupture, also known as jumper's knee, ankle sprains, ligament damage and joint swelling.

The dance, which makes the dancer seemingly float or glide, has gone viral in Korea, with many K-Pop figures, including JYP Entertainment founder and producer Park Jin-young, doing the challenge.

It first gained attention after a middle school student uploaded a video of him doing the dance on TikTok, surpassing 200 million views in just five days.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]