Sword-swallowers find that work can be a bit of a pain

December 29, 2006

The Times December 29, 2006 Sword-swallowers find that work can be a bit of a painMichael Horsnell Say argh!: one of Mr Witcombe's sword-swallowing subjects (SWNS) It might seem like a statement of the obvious, but sword-swallowers are prone to suffering from sore throats. However, practitioners of the art can suffer more serious injuries such as perforated intestines, internal bleeding and even major haemorrhages. These

occupational hazards have been brought to light by a consultant radiologist, who studied the range of injuries sword-swallowers suffered. Brian Witcombe became fascinated by the subject after seeing an X-ray of an injured sword-swallower’s throat. “I see patients with swallowing disorders and was sent an X-ray of a sword-swallower, which got me interested in what medical side-effects they have,” he said. “I started to wonder how it worked, like does the sword go right through to the stomach, whether they get injured, and it went from there.” Mr Witcombe based his findings on questionnaires and medical notes from about 60 sword-swallowers. “They try to out-do each other by swallowing lots of

swords — the record is 16 — or swallowing swords while riding a unicycle, or belly dancing.” Mr Witcombe, a consultant at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester, carried out the study in his spare time and received no funding. He worked with Dan Meyer, chief executive of the Sword Swallowers Association International, based in America. After a year of research the results are published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal. Mr Witcombe concluded that professional sword swallowers usually only suffer significant complications when they get distracted from their task. Unsurprisingly, he has discovered that the most common complaints are sore throats. “A lot of sword swallowers are involved in sideshows and the like, and they are at the greatest risk because they are swallowing up to 200 swords every two or three months,” he said. “Six had perforations of the gullet, quite a few had suffered serious

internal bleeding and three had a major haemorrhage involving a transfusion.” He was impressed with the sword swallowers’ rigorous training — and found most professional performers only injured themselves when others got involved. “Dan Meyer was injured while he was filming for the David Letterman show — because the macaw on his shoulder started misbehaving,” he explained. “A belly dancer, swallowing a sword, lacerated her gut when a man tried to attach some notes to her belt.” Mr Witcombe is impressed by their devotion and training regime: “They start with sticking their fingers down their throat to overcome the gag reflex and they move on to all sorts of things such as paint brushes, needles and old bayonets.” Many sword-swallowers do not seek treatment, but the prognosis is usually good for those who do. He said: “They have a better recovery rate than other patients who suffer from perforations, because they tend to be young and

fit otherwise.” Cutting edge Sword-swallowing is believed to have begun among Indian religious leaders to show their power There are believed to be fewer than 100 practising swallowers today Matty “Blade” Henshaw swallowed 3,782 swords in 2003 In 2002 50 swords were swallowed at the same time by 19 individuals at a swallowers’ convention Source: swordswallow.comPeter H

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