It’s bad enough that loud music can potentially harm your hearing. But now it turns out that head-banging, a violent and rapid form of dancing, can put you at risk for brain injury, whiplash, and even stroke.
There have been isolated reports of head-banging injuries in the past: When guitarist Terry Balsamo of Evanescence had a stroke, his doctors attributed it to his on-stage thrashing. But until now, scientists really haven’t studied the effects of head-banging since it first started back in 1968 with Led Zeppelin.
According to Australian risk and safety researchers Declan Patton and Andrew McIntosh from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, head-banging is pretty much guaranteed to give you brain damage if you’re not careful. To test their theory, the researchers went to a variety of metal and hard rock concerts (the best way to test any scientific theory) and observed the head-thrashing techniques used by artists.
Then they created a “theoretical head-banging model” and plugged in various possible head angles and intensities. Using the top 11 “head-banging songs” chosen by a focus group, they measured an average tempo of 146 beats per minute, which they combined with head-banging arcs of more than 75 degrees from a person’s upright stance. They concluded that the typical death-metal tempo combined with a head-banging arc of at least 45 degrees will likely “cause mild head and neck injury.”
So is there hope for death-metal lovers? Yes, according to Patton and McIntosh, who offer the following advice:
“To minimize the risk of head and neck injury, head bangers should decrease their range of head and neck motion, head bang to slower tempo songs by replacing heavy metal with adult oriented rock, only head bang to every second beat, or use personal protective equipment.”
Headbanging is NOT a dance. If you’re going to classify headbanging as a dance, you have to classify “clapping” as a dance too. Why don’t you do a study of how clapping is damaging the circulation in people’s hands? Idiots.
http://metalunderground.com jk2tyme
what’s the piont of enjoying heavy metal, if you cant head-bang …….
a bit late
Only about 20 year too late..
meathead
good head banging is homo
crakarz
Ya we could replace heavy metal with adult oriented rock, except that adult oriented rock sucks. I’ll take the brain damage. Why live to think in a world that doesn’t think enough anyway?
lolol
id liek sum headbanging protective equipment plz
docmah
I wonder what the top 11 songs chosen were…
will rule
Even considering “adult-oriented rock” as an alternative to metal means that these “safety researchers” are already drain-bamamged. They must have been head-bangin’….
Justin
Hmm.. lets look at the definition:
dance
/dæns, dɑns/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [dans, dahns]
verb, danced, danc⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to move one’s feet or body, or both, rhythmically in a pattern of steps, esp. to the accompaniment of music.
2. to leap, skip, etc., as from excitement or emotion; move nimbly or quickly: to dance with joy.
3. to bob up and down: The toy sailboats danced on the pond.
With headbanging, you certainly move your body, move quickly, and bob up and down. I would say that headbanging fits into the definition of dance. Idiot.
Hey….what’s wrong with nickelback???? They are headbang worthy …Anyway…maybe we should change this subject to mosh pits instead of head banging….my neck is usually sore for a couple days…but i always get all busted up in mosh pits (gotta love them though). Anyway…sometimes my brain needs a little vibration…it makes it feel better…there’s something to be said for not thinking TOO much.
AND IF NICK VAUSE IS READING THIS YES ITS ME JORDAN FROM UR SCHOOL
http://youtube Jordan Garcia
SRY ABOUT THE FACE IT DIDNT TURN OUT RIGHT
http://youtube Jordan Garcia
AND IM A GUY JUST TO LET U ALL KNOW CAUSE JORDAN IS A BOY AND GIRL NAME
http://youtube.com jordan
heavy metal will never be replaced by adult orient rock!! only adults older than 35 would like that stuff
http://youtube.com jordan
and for all my readers out there i love u all and no im not gay!!!
http://youtube.com jordan
I G2G IM IN SCHOOL RIGHT NOW
jsmitty
I agree wit jk2tyme…whats the point of listenin to heavy metal music if you can headbang to it and enjoy yourself…I say SCREW YOU Ill take the brain damage!!! HEAVY METAL TILL I DIE!!!! I also agree wit jordan…Heavy Metal will NEVER EVER be replaced by adult orient rock….that shits for wussies!!! POWER TO THE HEADBANG!!!!
Looked all over E-bay for head-banging protective gear. Maybe because the people who studied this should be curing… Oh, I don’t know. AIDs? Cancer? Swine Flu? Fucking failures.
idiots!!!!!!!assholes!!!!!!!!!
i wouldnt listen to metal i fi wanted to listen to adult oriented rock , oh and another thingim twelve i could have told you this assholes ur wasting ur time i agree with really? go try and do something useful like study aids or cancer
Tuané
Head banging is to us like alcohol to a drunk. Death metal speaks to us like Christ to lunatics. Head banging is a way of escape of forgetting worries and sorrows. It makes us happy, if it hurts or not. Smoking is dangerous too, but do they discontinue tobacco? So, thanx for the concern, thanx for the info and please leave it at that.
psY
Man, is my neck killing me!! i indulge in extreme aggressive head-banging from time to time, and usually the pain persists for around 3-4 days. But this time i was seeing stars while headf-banging. Its been one week now, and still the pain does not subside. so i googled to see if it was something serious. i am none the wiser, but enjoyed raeding this blog!! keep on head-banging…
T
No s**t. Do these morons have nothing worth while to report on?
[Moderator's note: edited the cuss word.]
michebb
lol, dude my neck is killing me too! I think that was my last extreme aggressive headbanging experience of my life…. well that’s what I say now;) But it feels so good in the moment- sad to think I can;t thrash my head around no more to a great band. this blog cracks me up- keep on rockin!!!
headbangin is a part of metal, i cant listen to metal and not headbang, what the hell would we listen to adult oriented rock for, it sucks balls
Metal Angel
Yes, headbanging feels so good during the song you are into. I have been headbanging since 1992, I fell in love with heavy metal at the age of 15. Whiplash? yes. Once I was so energized by Danzig’s “Mother ’93″ I threw my back out during the headbanging. No, I will not listen to AOR. I will not stop. I AM METAL AND THIS IS WHAT I LOVE. Get over it.
figured it out!
Sounds like shaken baby syndrome. I can tell you all already have it!
Niller
Bahhh!! If i want to headbang i’ll do it! Besides the music, headbanging is the way to make a great spirit to the concerts. serious, if there is no headbanging to a metal concert, then the band really sucks!!!
Why doe’s anyone try to stop headbanging? When we headbang, we know the consequences, but we don’t care beacause it’s a part of the metal!! No matter how much they try to stop it, it will never stop.
david
yes headbanging can hurt you because if i do it my head starts to hurt really bad
Austin
Did they really suggest replacing metal?
Do they not realize that we headbang bewcause of the metal? We do it for the music, not the actualy act of headbanging.
Elijah
It is clear from the lack of insight and IQ of some of the morons defending this stupid act of headbanging, that any research suggesting brain damage as a result of banging your head to heavy metal must be 100% correct. I bet you that headbanging and IQ or sanity is directly related. The more you bang your head, the lower your IQ or general mental health
Matthew
Interesting observation about IQ and headbanging. I just wonder what comes first, the chicken or the egg? A low intellect will bang or swing his head… and banging will lead to a lower intellect. The more the metal- head the less the brain- head
It is like the size of the hole in some asshole’s exhaust on his car… the size of the hole in the exhaust and the noise that it makes normally reflects the size of the hole in the head of the owner
The louder the noise, the emtier the head
Mustaine_is_god666
matthew I disagre, just because someone head bangs it doesn’t mean that they’ll have a low IQ. I’m a metal head and headbang quite frequently yet I’m in college studying sciences and doin extremely well. Last time I checked people with empty head can’t understand calculus and microbiology
SLAYYYERRRRR ROOOOO
you don’t have to be smart to understand biology, if anything the trauma to your head could merely be making your brain submissive to memorizing dumb stuff like bacteria names and R groups on amino acids. I’m probably in the same program as you, headbang to decapitated and kreator on a daily basis and am otherwise fucking retarded. Don’t be like me guys
NotMyName
Yeah, let’s discuss terms definitions, since THAT is what the article is about…. ¬¬
I hope you get brain damage because of this, moron! – My bad… by your comment, you already have.
Music_9977
Ah the old headbanging makes you dumb myth… Well I can tell you now that I use to be in a death metal band and have done my share of headbanging.. and now I’m in university and have almost completed my bachelors in aerospace engineering and have received A’s in calculus and physics. Though I never blacked out during my headbanging days… my neck was sometimes sore afterwards and was hard to keep my head up.. but went away the next day.. sometimes I feel like I’ve experienced brain trauma… but I think I’m just a hypochondriac.. I don’t know.. you tell me what you think.
Ash
The type of music doesn’t matter just don’t head bang all night
Jakob
I could just imagine metalheads at a concert slowly tapping their heads at every second beat
lmao
scramo
Im FUCKED!
MegadethSucks
Are you SERIOUS??? Replace metal? Over my dead body! And I agree with michael, it’s not a dance. Ok so maybe I’ll be more careful next time, but I’m NOT stopping entirely. Too much fun. And what are these ‘top 11′ songs?
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1378396015 Sandra Elizabeth
It’s bad enough that loud music can potentially harm your hearing. But now it turns out that head-banging, a violent and rapid form of dancing, can put you at risk for brain injury, whiplash, and even stroke.
Pingback: Page O’ Tos » Blog Archive » Health Hazard Alert!!
Pingback: Head Banging Hurts Your Brain | Bowl of Serial
Pingback: the global health media project - “Theoretical Head-banging Model” Predicts Public Health Threat.
Pingback: Stonehenge Would’ve Made a Good Dance Club | Discoblog | Discover Magazine
Pingback: Headbanging is Bad for Your Health « Saroj on the Issues…
Pingback: Head Banging Will Hurt Your Brain | WTF!
Pingback: Health Crisis Among Headbangers - Entertainment Blog of blogs
Pingback: 25 Surprising Ways You Are Harming your Brain | Online Degree World
Pingback: Artistically Challenged Man Becomes “Michelangelo” After Brain Surgery | Discoblog | Discover Magazine
Pingback: Steff Metal » Blog Archive » Bang the Head that will not Bang