Perils of break-dancing

Press, 2 January 1985, Page 21

Perils of break-dancing

NZPA-AP Chicago Break dancing may be an amusing craze but it can cause serious harm to the neck, head, back and testicles, and may even be life-threatening, doctors, say.

Doctors writing in the journal of the American Medical Association found that break dancing, in which an individual sometimes spins rapidly on his head, neck and shoulders, has caused various medical problems in adolescents. They cited cases in which break-dancers sustained painful back swelling, collarbone and forearm fractures, torn knee ligaments, a neck dislocation, severe ankle and thumb sprains, testicle injuries, and even partial baldness. “Before the breaking fad passes, the medical profession will witness these, and other injuries,” two California doctors said in a letter in the journal. “Most of these problems are minor, but the potential for severe and life-threatening injury is great.” Among the most serious potential injuries, doctors say, are broken necks, which can be fatal, paralysis and twisting of the testicles, which can lead to a cutoff of blood supply and gangrene. “Even less serious cases can result in debilitating injuries,” said Dr Rodney A. Appell of the Louisiana State University Medical Centre. “A fractured collarbone affects the use of the arm. A loss of testicles can

be a debilitating injury. It’s a dangerous fad.” In a letter in the journal, Dr Appell and another doctor cite cases of two adolescent boys suffering from pain in the testicle area. Both had testicular torsion, or twisting. Although this doesn’t necessarily mean break dancing causes the ailment, the presence of pain can lead doctors to conclude a traumatic cause for it, if the underlying twisting requires surgery, doctors say. “If a person doesn’t get cared for, the twisting (can) cut off blood supply to the testicle,” Dr Appell said. “Once the blood supply is gone after so many hours, it’s too late and gangrene can set in. “If the twisting is very severe permanent damage can result in about four hours if the person doesn’t receive medical attention.” In another journal letter, doctors in New York cited a case in which a 15-year-old experienced a snap in his neck, followed by stiffness. The patient had spun on his head the night before while break dancing. An examination found muscular spasms and loss of sensation in one arm. A third journal letter by doctors in San Diego cited a

case of a boy, aged 11, who' suffered from pain and swelling in the back after doing back spins. The authors noted there were two other similar cases as well as a considerable number of injuries described by other doctors. Doctors mentioned in another letter that two boys, aged 17, who had been break-dancing suffered from patchy baldness, caused by a repeated spinning on the top of the head that eroded hair shafts down to the scalp.

Researchers say parents and children should be advised of both the unusual and common injuries caused by the fad.