Looking down at your phone can give you horns, reveals latest study
A latest study has broken the internet which states that people who are hooked at their phones are beginning to grow horns on their skulls. The disadvantages to excessively using the smartphones keeps popping on the internet daily. From making people rude and inattentive to damaging posture, phones are the root of many problems these days. Looks like this recent study might bring some changes. Two Australian researchers have claimed that they have found enlargements, or bone spurs in that region, anywhere from 1/3 inch to more than 1 inch long. While medical experts are not ready to buy the idea that technology is also warping our skeletons, the news has gone viral on the internet.
Recent articles by the BBC and The Washington Post have cited a 2018 study in the journal Scientific Reports saying that these bone growths have been turning up more often than expected in people aged 18 to 30. The study suggests that “sustained aberrant postures associated with the emergence and extensive use of hand-held contemporary technologies, such as smartphones and tablets,” are to blame. The authors are a chiropractor, David Shahar, and an associate professor of biomechanics, Mark G.L. Sayers, both from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Experts have given the report mixed reviews and haven’t totally believed the study. Bending the head forward for long periods of time could, in theory, cause a bone spur to form, said Evan Johnson, assistant professor and director of physical therapy at NewYork-Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital. In that position, the ligament that helps hold up the head pulls against the skull, and “the bone will adapt by forming a small mound or protuberance,” Johnson said.
The bone spur itself “is really a big, ‘So what?’ moment,” Johnson said. “The fact that you have this little bony projection in your skull, that means nothing.” If technology is causing that postural change across the population, Johnson said, “It’s not a small thing. We may see more and younger arthritic changes in the neck and disc degeneration and more tension in the neck. “
David Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation at Mount Sinai Health, said the connection between a bent neck and the bone spurs seemed real. However, “I don’t think we’re at a point yet where we can blame this on cellphone use,” he said. Dr. David Langer, chairman of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said, “It doesn’t make a bit of sense to me.” He said disc problems were well known to occur in people who spend a great deal of time looking down with their necks bent, surgeons among them.
