Man developed a 'headspin hole' after years of breakdancing, case report says

A man developed a "breakdance bulge" on the top of his head after repeatedly practicing headspins, doctors report.

The bulbous lump of tissue, which doctors surgically removed, had become tender to the touch and was associated with a circle of hair loss. These hairless bumps on the head are also commonly called "headspin holes," and more broadly, the condition is sometimes called "breakdancer overuse syndrome."

"Despite 'headspin hole' being known within the breakdancing community, it is scarcely documented in the medical literature," the doctors noted in a paper published Thursday (Oct. 10) in the journal BMJ Case Reports. Based on their results, treating these bumps on the head with surgery "appears to be a successful intervention," the physicians said.

Breakdancing — or breaking, as it's known by practitioners — incorporates power moves that may involve balancing in off-kilter poses or spinning on top of the head, for example. The dancer in this case, a man in his early 30s, had been practicing various types of headspins for more than 19 years. He reported training about five times a week for 1.5 hours at a time; about two to seven minutes of each session would be spent putting direct pressure on the top of his head.

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The man said he noticed a bump, accompanied by hair loss, forming on his scalp. And in the past five years, the bump had grown and become tender to the touch.

"The presence of the lesion and associated discomfort were aesthetically displeasing to the patient, but the protuberance had not hindered the patient from continuing his head-spinning activities," the man's doctors noted.