Breakdancers at higher risk of injury medics now call 'headspin hole'

Breakdancers or 'breakers' were today warned their hobby could cause them to develop a bizarre lump on the top of their skull.

Amazing images showing the injury dubbed the 'headspin hole' or 'breakdown bulge', which can also cause hair loss.

Medics believe the condition, unique to the sport, is triggered by athletes repeatedly spinning on their craniums — the hard bone case that protects the brain.

Sharing one case of a breakdancer suffering the unsightly growth in an academic journal as a warning, doctors said such incidents may require 'surgical intervention'. 

The unidentified man in his early thirties, from Denmark, had performed various headspin manoeuvres for over 19 years. 

He practiced roughly five times a week, for an hour and a half each session. 

During these sessions direct pressure was applied to the top of his head for between two and seven minutes at a time.

Despite developing a lump on the top of his head, he continued to practice headspins.

It was only after five years — when the mass began to grow, and his scalp started to feel tender — that he sought medical attention after becoming embarrassed to be seen in public without a hat. 

MRI scans taken at Copenhagen University Hospital found the lump measured 13-inch (33cm) and the skin and tissue surrounding it had thickened. 

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A biopsy thankfully confirmed the lump wasn't cancer. 

Surgery to remove the growth was successful but the surrounding skin tissue remained thickened.

At a follow-up appointment one month later, however, the man said he was happy with the result of the operation and felt able to go out in public once again without having to wear a cap.

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, the medics said: 'This case underscores the importance of recognising chronic scalp conditions in breakdancers and suggests that surgical intervention can be an effective treatment.'

However, they noted it is only the second case to have ever been reported in a medical journal. 

Breakdancers are prone to injuries because of the physical demands of the moves required. 

Sprains, strains, and inflamed tendons are particularly common. 

Head and brain injuries, including subdural haematomas — the pooling of blood between the skull and the brain — have also been reported. 

But research, published last year in the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, also found there was a 'significant difference in hair loss' among breakerdancers compared to non-breakers. 

Those who practised more than three headspin sessions a week were significantly more likely to suffer hair loss, the US scientists said. 

Despite these concerns, breakers were less likely to seek medical attention. 

It comes as the sport made its Olympic games debut this summer in Paris, hitting the headlines after athlete Rachael 'Raygun' Gunn failed to score a single point.   

The Aussie breakdancer, 36, turned into an overnight internet sensation after her wild dance moves at the sporting spectacular became the event's most-talked about moment.

She was hit by an onslaught of online ridicule and garnered attention of global stars for her unique routine, which included kangaroo hopping and her rolling around on the floor like a snake.