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THIS Story is yet more proof that Heavy Metal music and the Gothic Death-style damage your health. Shocking!
Scots rocker needs eye op after headbanging on stage leaves him blind
Jul 8 2008 By Michael MacLeod
A YOUNG rocker in a Scots heavy metal band has gone partly blind after headbanging on stage.
Bass player Richard Allan, 21, thought he'd been dazzled by stage lights when he noticed his vision was blurred.
But doctors told him he meeded surgery to repair a detached retina, a condition which can cause permanent blindness.
They warned him he could lose the sight in the eye completely if he doesn't give the headbanging a rest for a while.
Richard, who plays with unsigned band The Day I Vanished, admitted that his wild stage dancing was to blame for his problem.
He said: "I guess I do go a bit mental at gigs. We all leap about the place headbanging because we love our music.
"But I never thought it would make me start to go blind.
"I was at the bar after the gig and noticed things were blurry . I thought I'd maybe been looking at a light for too long.
"The doctors said I'd need an operation, which is a massive shock as I've never had a proper operation before.
"But I'm made of tough enough stuff to get through it."
Richard, of Penicuik, Midlothian, went to the Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh the day after the band's gig at The Hive in the city.
He was told that his retina, which acts like a camera film, had come away from the back of his eye.
Surgery will repair it and he's likely to make a good recovery, although he could be left with some blurred vision. Richard will have to wear an eye patch for a while after the op.
He joked: "The band's logo is a pirate ship, so maybe we can all dress up as pirates.
"I'll have to sleep on one side and I've been told not to read or play computer games, which really sucks!
"But the upside is that it gets me out of driving duties on tour.
"I'll be back on the road in no time. It's more inconvenient than a hindrance.
"I just have to have faith in science and the NHS so I can still rock out with the band - just not as violently."
Richard fears his problem could affect his day job in a bank, where he spends much of his time at a computer screen.
He said: "I'm hoping more than ever the band get signed because it's the only career I enjoy that doesn't involve computers."
Richard is not the first headbanger to suffer health problems.
The guitarist in million-selling US band Evanescence, Terry Balsamo, suffered a stroke in 2005 after violent headbanging left him with a torn artery in his neck. He recovered well enough to rejoin the band.
A study by brain specialists at Boston University found that headbanging can cause whiplash.
Ten out of 17 teenage heavy metal fans studied by the experts had suffered neck pain. The problem was worse among girls, who banged their heads more violently to shake their long hair.
Jul 8 2008 By Michael MacLeod
A YOUNG rocker in a Scots heavy metal band has gone partly blind after headbanging on stage.
Bass player Richard Allan, 21, thought he'd been dazzled by stage lights when he noticed his vision was blurred.
But doctors told him he meeded surgery to repair a detached retina, a condition which can cause permanent blindness.
They warned him he could lose the sight in the eye completely if he doesn't give the headbanging a rest for a while.
Richard, who plays with unsigned band The Day I Vanished, admitted that his wild stage dancing was to blame for his problem.
He said: "I guess I do go a bit mental at gigs. We all leap about the place headbanging because we love our music.
"But I never thought it would make me start to go blind.
"I was at the bar after the gig and noticed things were blurry . I thought I'd maybe been looking at a light for too long.
"The doctors said I'd need an operation, which is a massive shock as I've never had a proper operation before.
"But I'm made of tough enough stuff to get through it."
Richard, of Penicuik, Midlothian, went to the Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh the day after the band's gig at The Hive in the city.
He was told that his retina, which acts like a camera film, had come away from the back of his eye.
Surgery will repair it and he's likely to make a good recovery, although he could be left with some blurred vision. Richard will have to wear an eye patch for a while after the op.
He joked: "The band's logo is a pirate ship, so maybe we can all dress up as pirates.
"I'll have to sleep on one side and I've been told not to read or play computer games, which really sucks!
"But the upside is that it gets me out of driving duties on tour.
"I'll be back on the road in no time. It's more inconvenient than a hindrance.
"I just have to have faith in science and the NHS so I can still rock out with the band - just not as violently."
Richard fears his problem could affect his day job in a bank, where he spends much of his time at a computer screen.
He said: "I'm hoping more than ever the band get signed because it's the only career I enjoy that doesn't involve computers."
Richard is not the first headbanger to suffer health problems.
The guitarist in million-selling US band Evanescence, Terry Balsamo, suffered a stroke in 2005 after violent headbanging left him with a torn artery in his neck. He recovered well enough to rejoin the band.
A study by brain specialists at Boston University found that headbanging can cause whiplash.
Ten out of 17 teenage heavy metal fans studied by the experts had suffered neck pain. The problem was worse among girls, who banged their heads more violently to shake their long hair.
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