New TikTok ‘bone smashing’ trend encourages people to hit themselves in the face with hammers to improve their looks
- “Bone smashing tutorial” videos have been viewed 364 million times on TikTok
- But doctors warn against this practice because it can leave you disfigured
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Medical experts are sounding the alarm over a bizarre new TikTok trend that sees people hitting themselves in the face with hammers in the hope it will make them more attractive.
The idea behind so-called “bone breaking” is that people hit their faces with hammers, bottles, massagers, weights, or other blunt objects to break or break their bones in the hope reshaping their facial structure.
The theory behind this frightening trend is that bones will heal into a more desirable alignment after being fractured or fractured.
But there is no evidence that this is the case, and tThere is a good chance that things will go wrong, leaving people even worse off.
Dr. Prem Tripathi, a plastic surgeon from San Francisco, said in a TikTok video, “I honestly never thought I would have to come here and say this, but please don’t intentionally break the bones in your face.”
Videos containing the phrase “bone smashing tutorial” have been viewed 364 million times on TikTok. The idea is for people to hit their faces with hammers, bottles, massagers, weights, or other blunt objects to reshape their facial structure
He said that if you “move those bones and then they have to heal on their own,” you can get a malunion fracture, which occurs when a broken bone heals in an abnormal position. They can lead to health complications and… leaves you deformed because ‘the bones have not healed properly.’
Despite the dangers of the trend, videos with the phrase “bone smashing tutorial” have already been viewed 364 million times on TikTok.
TikTokers’ rationale for the bizarre practice appears to have to do with Wolff’s law, coined by German anatomist and surgeon Julius Wolff in the 19th century.
The law is based on the fact that our bones are not lifeless structures. They are constantly changing as old or damaged bone tissue is reabsorbed and replaced with new bone.
Applying force or physical stress to the bones can increase the rate at which this regeneration process occurs and give you stronger, thicker bones.
That’s one reason why physical activity, especially weight lifting exercises, can help improve bone strength and prevent bone loss.
On the other hand, not doing weight lifting exercises can contribute to thinner and more brittle bones.
But there is a big difference between the force placed on the bones from carrying groceries or lifting weights, and hitting yourself in the face with a blunt object.
Moreover, Wolff’s law is a huge simplification of how bones work. There are many other things that contribute to bone density, such as diet and hormone levels.
A TikToker from Toronto, Canada, said he has experimented with breaking bones to “improve his facial structure.”
But many users were quick to condemn him, saying the differences in his before and after photos were simply the result of better lighting.
The Canadian bodybuilder admitted that he had suffered a bruise in the past because he was ‘going too fast’.
Although bones heal after a fracture, it is not guaranteed that they will heal properly or in a way that gives people the chiseled jawline they were hoping for.
If you break a bone, you risk damaging soft tissue, connective tissue, or your eyes, which could cause permanent injury. Bleeding and lesions may also occur, which can become infected.
Although the majority of people talking about this practice seem to be men, women on average have smaller, thinner bones than their male counterparts, meaning they are at even greater risk of accidentally harming themselves.