Looking down at our Phones is Giving us HORNS

By: | June 30th, 2019

Image courtesy: Sahar and Sayers (Scientific Reports (2018))

Cell phones are an integral part of modern telecommunications. It has completely transformed our lives and behaviors…the way we communicate, work, read, do banking and do shopping.

But probably we are not aware of the physical consequences of using these smart devices

New research in biomechanics suggests that young people, who spend excessive time looking down at smartphones and tablets, are developing hornlike spikes at the back of their skulls.

Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia have done detailed research. David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast, said, “I have been a clinician for 20 years, and only in the last decade, increasingly, I have been discovering that my patients have this growth on the skull,”

These bony spikes are called “external occipital protuberance” (EOP). According to Dr Shahar these bony spike are more prevalent in younger people. These are caused by the forward tilt of the head, which transfers the weight from the spine to the muscles at the back of the head.       

Dr Shahar and colleagues noted in their study that “The development of [enlarged] EOP may be attributed to, and explained by, the extensive use of screen-based activities by individuals of all ages, including children, and the associated poor posture.”

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

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