Behind every public figure's appearance lies a personal wellness routine. "Their Health Aesthetics" explores the diets, workouts, procedures, and beauty and fashion habits of notable figures.

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Actor Jung Ga-eun has drawn attention after revealing that hanging from a pull-up bar every morning has helped ease her wrist pain. The dead hang — in which a person grips a bar and supports their full body weight without pulling upward — engages the forearm and grip muscles while also stimulating the muscles around the shoulder. Simply hanging in place can build strength, though the benefits and strain involved vary depending on shoulder-joint condition and exercise intensity.

Jung introduced her morning wellness routine in a video posted Monday to her YouTube channel "Rollercoaster Sister Ga-eun." Demonstrating the exercise on a bar mounted in a doorframe, she said, "When I have time, I hang for a minute, drop down, then hang again — two or three times." Asked about the results, she said her wrists hurt less.

Jung added that she could only hold on for two seconds when she first started, but gradually extended her hang time through consistent practice. She said she came to feel that strengthening the muscles around the wrist — rather than letting the joint bear the load alone — was key. So what does the dead hang actually do for wrist and shoulder health?

Gripping the bar alone stimulates muscles and builds grip strength

Unlike a pull-up, the dead hang requires no upward movement — the exerciser simply grips the bar with both hands and holds their body weight. The movement continuously engages the forearm muscles that control the fingers and wrists.

Keeping a grip on the bar requires the finger-flexor muscles to remain contracted. This is known as isometric contraction — the muscles generate force without significantly changing in length. The longer a person maintains their grip, the greater the stimulus to muscular endurance.

Grip strength measures hand and arm muscle power and serves as a broader indicator of overall muscle function. In middle-aged and older adults particularly, grip strength is closely linked to physical decline and has gained recognition as a marker of general health.

A 2022 analysis published in the international journal Clinical Nutrition examined the relationship between grip strength and health risks. Researchers analyzed 48 studies involving more than 3.13 million participants and found that people with lower grip strength showed a higher risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease death.

Grip strength is a useful indicator for tracking age-related changes in muscle function. However, this does not mean that grip-strengthening exercises directly reduce the risk of death — overall muscle mass, physical activity levels and other factors all play a role.

During a dead hang, the muscles of the arms and shoulders are engaged alongside the grip. Maintaining a stable position requires coordination between the muscles surrounding the shoulder and the core. This is why the dead hang can serve as an upper-body exercise that trains grip strength and surrounding muscles simultaneously.

Can it ease wrist pain? Grip strength and shoulder function are connected

Jung's experience of reduced wrist pain after taking up the dead hang can be understood through the way the wrist, arm and shoulder muscles work together as an interconnected system.

Most of the muscles that move the wrist are located in the forearm, below the elbow. These muscles work together when gripping objects or stabilizing the wrist, and when they lack sufficient strength — or accumulate fatigue from repetitive movements — the strain on the tissues around the wrist can increase.

Appropriate strength training can help improve the wrist and arm's capacity to handle load. However, wrist pain can stem from a range of causes — tendon inflammation, nerve compression, joint damage and more — so the right exercise depends on the specific location and cause of the pain.

Clinical research has also examined the relationship between grip strength and shoulder function.

A randomized controlled trial by South Korean researchers, published in October in the international journal Medicine, analyzed the added effects of grip-strengthening exercises in 36 patients with shoulder pain.

Researchers divided participants into two groups and had them exercise three times a week for four weeks. One group combined scapular stabilization exercises with grip-strengthening exercises, while the other performed only scapular stabilization exercises.

Both groups showed improvements in shoulder strength, grip strength, pain and function. The group that added grip-strengthening exercises showed particularly greater gains in shoulder strength and function.

The researchers concluded that grip-strengthening exercises may provide additional benefit for the recovery of shoulder muscle function. The exercises used in the study involved grip training with hand exercise tools — it was not a direct test of the dead hang as a treatment.

Because the dead hang repeatedly engages the grip muscles, it can be used as a form of strength training. However, people who already have wrist pain should carefully adjust exercise intensity, as supporting the full body weight through the hands could place additional strain on an already painful joint.

Hanging too long strains the shoulders — beginners should start with 10 seconds

The shoulder is the area requiring the most caution when starting the dead hang. The shoulder joint has a wide range of motion, which makes the stability of the surrounding muscles and ligaments especially important. When the arms are raised overhead and body weight pulls downward, considerable force is placed on the tissues surrounding the shoulder joint.

Physical therapy researchers at La Trobe University in Australia analyzed the benefits and risks of the dead hang in 2023 and noted that people with shoulder joint instability should exercise caution.

In particular, those with hypermobility — where the joint moves through an excessively large range — or a history of shoulder dislocation may experience additional strain on the tissues around the joint when hanging and bearing body weight.

The researchers recommended that people unfamiliar with the dead hang start with short holds of 10 seconds or less rather than attempting long hangs from the outset, gradually increasing duration over time. They also noted the importance of maintaining appropriate muscle engagement throughout the hang, rather than letting the shoulder muscles go completely slack.

Beginners are advised to start at a height where their feet can touch the floor or a platform. Bending the knees slightly or keeping some weight on the feet while gripping the bar can reduce the load on the wrists and shoulders. Once strength improves and the joints feel comfortable, a full hang with feet off the ground can follow.

When gripping the bar, avoid excessive wrist extension and keep the body from swinging. If pain develops in the shoulder or wrist during the exercise, stop and assess the condition. For door-mounted bars in particular, checking that the bar is securely fixed and within its rated weight limit is important to prevent falls.

For those with persistent wrist or shoulder pain, lighter grip exercises or band-based shoulder stabilization exercises may be a better starting point than the dead hang. Anyone with a pre-existing joint injury should determine the appropriate type and intensity of exercise based on an evaluation by a medical professional or physical therapist.

Gradually extending hang time — as Jung has done — can be an effective way to build strength and muscular endurance. What matters more than setting a personal record for hang duration is exercising consistently at an intensity the wrists and shoulders can handle.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com