Although not common, it is not that uncommon either, I have seen this quite a few times over the last 40 years of cultivation.
Sometimes plants/branches do this for no apparent reason, it is just a slightly weird genetic mutation.
It is nothing to be worried about or panic over and it is exactly the same as if the plant has "topped" itself.
I have seen both main stems and any number of random branches do this on various plants, it does not seem strain related, caused by damge or poor nutrition etc, just a random mutation that won't affect potency negatively, but will increase yields positively.