Head Banging Causes Serious Brain Damage

As exciting and cool as head banging at a metal concert could sound, it comes as a shocker that an enthusiastic grove to your metal music could leave your brain damaged forever. Head banging enthusiasts all over the world take the news with a pinch of salt, but unfortunately, a new research that appeared in the latest issue of The Lancet confirms that headbanging can cause a chronic subdural haematoma, most commonly known as a blood clot in the brain.

In January 2013, a 50-year-old man complained of a persistent two-week long headache. The doctors at the Hannover Medical School were unable to recognise the reasons for it because the man had denied drug abuse and neither did he have a physical injury. The man himself was unable to discern the causes for the unbearable pain. The doctors examined him and his medical history was clean. "Neurological examination and laboratory studies, including coagulation screening, were normal," the study states. Unable to discern the reasons, they conducted a cranial CT scan only to find a blood clot on the right side of his brain. He was suffering from chronic subdural haematoma.

The reason they specified was due to him headbanging at a Motorhead concert four weeks before the tests were conducted. "He had no history of head trauma, but reported headbanging at a Motörhead concert 4 weeks previously," according to the study.

The study authors explains that headbanging is a contemporary dance form consisting of abrupt flexion-extension movements of the head to the rhythm of rock music, most commonly seen in the heavy metal genre. "While such shows are enjoyable and stimulating for the audience, some fans might be endangered by indulging in excessive headbanging," the study says.

The clot was removed successfully and the man is free of his headaches. Next time you go to a rock concert, don't let your excitement kill you.