Horns or a Dipstick

by: Georgetown Family Chiropractic

A startling news story came out recently on a series of young people growing “horns.”  This story was about research done by an Australian chiropractor and others that showed that there is a prevalence of young people growing bony spikes on their heads.

They suggested that these youngsters were using phones to such a high degree, and with such bad posture, that there were measurable bony spikes growing on their skulls.

While this was a catchy headline newspaper drummed up to tell the story, the part the headline didn’t say?  These “horns” were growing in the opposite direction.  That’s right, they were growing downwards.  From the back of the skull.

Creating the question, is it right to call these horns?  Don’t horns grow upwards, rather than down?  What do they more resemble instead?

A dipstick.  The long thin rod used to test fluid in a car.  Also, commonly used as a put down for someone that does something – not smart.  Like look at their phone so much that their heads start growing horns.

But it’s not right to insult or put these people down.  They don’t deserve to be mocked, because these people found these bony spurs while doing something for themselves.  Getting themselves checked, seeing a health and wellness professional, addressing their challenges.  Much more so than the people writing click-bait stories on the internet did.

So the putdown of “dipstick” does not apply to these people with “horns.”  In fact, the opposite applies – the actual meaning of dipstick.

The meaning of it being an instrument.  A tool used to measure something important.

Like vital engine oil in a car’s engine.  Without which it would quickly overheat and lock up and become useless, costing thousands of dollars to repair, ruining the vehicle, and rendering it useless – without expensive and time-consuming repairs.

And that is how we should see these people – they were the ones that acted.  They got checked, found out what their oil status was.  Maybe they were driven towards it by an obvious breakdown – just like a car making a bad sound – neck creaking, pain, can’t sleep, can’t get comfortable or sleep. Then it often just gets worse, when you can’t focus, school and work gets worse, and finally gets missed or skipped, costing money and aggravation to those around them.

But they did something about it.  They looked under the hood, checked the oil level, and found what it said.  Even if the news was potentially not good.  Or scary, even.

For that they deserve recognition and praise, not scorn or shock.  They faced a challenge for themselves – and likely told us something important about the rest of us at the same time.