BehindTheMedspeak: 'Bang your head, metal health will drive you mad' — Quiet Riot

It would appear the group (above, performing "Metal Health" at the U.S. Festival in 1983) was prophetic.

Perhaps Gibson was right.

Andrew McIntosh, an associate professor at the School of Risk and Safety Sciences at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, reported in the December 17, 2008 issue of the British Medical Journal that "An average head banging song has a tempo of about 146 beats per minute, which is predicted to cause mild head injury when the range of motion is greater than 75°. At higher tempos and greater ranges of motion there is a risk of neck injury."

Here's a December 22, 2008 Guardian story by Sean Michaels about the study.

Headbanging does create risk of brain damage, says study

Forget cigarettes, fried food and holding your breath too long – there's another indulgence that some doctors wish to quash. Rockers should cease their headbanging, Australian scientists have advised, or wear a less-than-rocking neck brace.

"We identified a definite risk of mild traumatic brain injury from headbanging," Dr Andrew McIntosh, of the University of New South Wales (UNSW), told the Australian newspaper. "We would suggest a proper public health warning, as for smoking." The results of his research were published in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal.

Researchers at UNSW's school of risk and safety sciences found that risk of neck and head injury was directly related to song tempo. The average heavy metal song, with a tempo of 146 bpm, is likely to cause mild injury if the head's range of motion is greater than 75 degrees. Songs like Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart – at 180 bpm – are among the most dangerous, leading to anything from mild headaches to mosh-induced strokes.

McIntosh and co-author Declan Patton advised that "Adult-oriented rock" is much more safe, as it involves a slower rate of head-bopping. We are not quite sure what "adult-oriented rock" means, but we suspect the music is less cool than AC/DC.

The study's authors also observed the headbanging of cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead. Listening to the Ramones' I Wanna Be Sedated, Beavis kept his "angular head velocity" within safe limits, they wrote. Butthead did not. "It is well understood, however, that cartoon characters are able to tolerate greater than normal impacts without injury," the study drily noted.

Injury can also be avoided by the use of a neck brace. Or, McIntosh advised, "learn to ballroom dance. That's the takeaway message".

Here's the abstract of the BMJ paper.

Head and neck injury risks in heavy metal: head bangers stuck between rock and a hard bass

Objective: To investigate the risks of mild traumatic brain injury and neck injury associated with head banging, a popular dance form accompanying heavy metal music.

Design: Observational studies, focus group, and biomechanical analysis.

Participants: Head bangers.

Main outcome measures: Head Injury Criterion and Neck Injury Criterion were derived for head banging styles and both popular heavy metal songs and easy listening music controls.

Results: An average head banging song has a tempo of about 146 beats per minute, which is predicted to cause mild head injury when the range of motion is greater than 75°. At higher tempos and greater ranges of motion there is a risk of neck injury.

Conclusion: To minimise 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.

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You can read the paper in its entirety, including tables, figures, references, the whole nine yards — right here.

Don't have time right now?

No problema: print it out, take it home and enjoy it with your Rice Krispies.