Ergo Series [Issue 5, Volume 1]
HORNS are growing on our skulls?
Researchers at Australian university has conducted a series of epidemic research on bone spurs growth at the base of skulls especially among young participants.
Horn (bone spur) at base of skull?
In 2016, David Shahar and Mark Sayer from University of Sunshine Coast found that 41% of their 218 subjects ages from 18 to 30, are observed with bone growth at the back of their skull.
Further study conducted in Queensland, researchers found that 33% of 1,200 subjects between ages 18 to 86 are present with similar bone growth. The prevalence, however, decrease with age.
Are phone usage to be blame?
Tilting your head forward and downward to look at handheld device could put muscles at the back of your skull to exert more force.
Over time, the weight shift from the spine to muscles at the back of the head is likely to promote bone growth in the connecting tendons and ligaments.
Continuous usage of smartphones, especially among young adults might contribute to poor neck posture, essentially promoting the growth of bone spur.
However, Sayers said that smartphones are not necessarily the root cause of this phenomenon. Some other activity such as bike riding using drop hand-bars and sleeping with high pillow could also introduce poor neck posture.
Shifting your head forward cause neck muscles to exert more effort as opposed to normal neck posture.
How much our neck muscles bear?
The pressure exerted by the base of your neck could increase dramatically when your head is tilted forward.
Force exerted by muscles behind your neck can go from 4kg to 27kg when your head tilt from 0° to 60° (according to research by Kenneth Hansraj in the National Library of Medicine).
If you cannot imagine how much 27kg weigh, imagine lifting 3 sacks of rice at once. Or 1 full LPG cooking gas cylinder at your kitchen.
27kg on your neck alone. Can you imagine now?
The takeaways
Growing bone spur anywhere on your body is not necessarily a bad consequence. Any kind of repeated pressure, internally or externally, could initiate our body to adapt.
In other sense, as long as these spurs do not cause other problems such as chronic headache, neck and back pain, nerve pinch, etc., you are fine, for now.
What you really need to do is just mind your posture and control your screen time!