Bustin’ this move may end up bustin’ your scalp.
Your Back Page scribbler is agnostic to the merits or otherwise of modern dance styles.
Our only opinion on the controversial performance of Australia’s Olympic breakdancing hopeful was that the competitor’s adopted stage name, Raygun, was rather a weak pun.
Other than that, most breakdancing performances, to our untutored eye, resemble nothing so much as the dying contortions of a housefly on the windowsill after it’s been sprayed with Mortein.
As it transpires, breakdancing does indeed present a health hazard to enthusiastic proponents, albeit probably not a fatal one.
According to Danish researchers, breakdancers run the risk of developing a condition known either as “headspin hole” or “breakdance bulge” on their scalps, caused by the repetitive practising and performing of a signature move called headspinning.
Publishing last week in BMJ Case Reports, the authors detail the case of a male breakdancer who had developed a nasty growth on his scalp, the result of his near 20 years of executing various types of headspinning routines.
The man, in his 30s, had developed a growth on his scalp and was experiencing hair loss but continued to perform headspin manoeuvres around five times a week.
When the lump started to grow a lot larger and his scalp began to feel tender, he decided to consult a doctor.
Scans revealed his skin, tissue and skull had thickened around the lump but found no signs of cancer and surgeons successfully removed the lump, although the surrounding tissue remained thickened.
“This case underscores the importance of recognising chronic scalp conditions in breakdancers and suggests that surgical intervention can be an effective treatment,” the study authors said.
The researchers also pointed to other health problems that could result from breakdancing, including sprains, strains, tendinitis, head and brain injuries such as subdural haematomas, carpal tunnel syndrome and inflamed tendons.
Sounds like it might be safer for our budding breakdancers to stick to more traditional Australian dance routines … like the Nutbush, or the Time Warp.
Trip your light, fantastic story tips to penny@medicalrepublic.com.au.
