Breaks and Other Bad Breaks for Breakers

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> Recent letters have documented multiple hazards of break dancing,^1-4which include masking of testicular torsion, cervical subluxation and dislocation, flank hematoma, clavicle and forearm fractures, torn or sprained ligaments, and alopecia. Two 14-year-old male adolescents were seen in the emergency department on the same day for an uncommon Salter type I fracture of the proximal humerus incurred while break dancing (Figure). Fractures of the proximal humeral epiphyseal plate represent only 3% of all physeal fractures.⁵These humeral fractures may occur at any age until epiphyseal closure,^5,6and causes include a direct blow to the arm or a fall onto an outstretched arm.⁵Both our patients sustained a fracture while performing a maneuver that involved supporting all or most of the body weight on one hand for a short time during a rapid series of maneuvers. A shearing force on a relatively weak epiphyseal plate