A new study shows some young people are developing horn-like spikes on the back of their skulls as a result of continued smartphone use.
According to a Washington Post report, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia say constant forward tilting of the head, specifically caused by increased use of cell phones and other mobile devices, can lead to the formation of bone spurs in the skull, located just above the neck.
David Shahar, the paper’s first author, told the Post that the bone spurs are a "sign of a serious deformity in posture that can cause chronic headaches and pain in the upper back and neck."
Shahar also told the paper, “These formations take a long time to develop, so that means that those individuals who suffer from them probably have been stressing that area since early childhood.”
The researchers behind the study say their findings mark the first documentation of skeletal adaptation to the use of technology in daily life.
In recent years, medical experts have warned of conditions possibly related to repeated technology use such as “text neck” and “texting thumb.”