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Iron
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2025
- Posts
- 23
- Reputation
- 10
Introduction
There's a common misconception online that strengthening the hyoid muscles (digastric, stylohyoid, mylohyoid and geniohyoid) will lift the hyoid bone and improve the side profile.
This idea has some scientific backing such as in this study where elderly participants engaging in high-speed resistance exercises showed 'a significant increase in the vertical position of the hyoid bone at rest,' It’s important to recognize the context. These findings reflect outcomes in sarcopenic, postural-compromised elderly populations, not young individuals. The neuromuscular adaptations and myofascial architecture of aging adults differ significantly from that of healthy, younger subjects.
The Problem
However, What I’ve gathered through both research and observing anecdotal patterns particularly in individuals presenting with a “low hyoid” or recessed submental region (yes anecdotal but i've seen a lot of posts) ,is that the root cause isn’t muscle hypotonia or underactivation. Rather, it’s chronic hypertonicity and overuse of the suprahyoid complex, largely secondary to forward head posture (FHP) and poor cervical-thoracic alignment. (In simpler terms) the issue isn't weakness, but chronic overuse of the hyoid muscles due to FHP. In FHP, deep neck flexors and postural stabilizers become weak, forcing the suprahyoid and platysma muscles to take a lot more of that load. These are not supposed to hold up the head, so they become tight, thickened and visually more prominent which lowers the apparent hyoid appearance and ruins side profile aesthetics.
Misconceptions
A key misunderstanding lies in how people conceptualize “muscle tone.” Most assume that increasing strength or hypertrophy correlates directly with increased resting tension and improved appearance, aka strengthening exercises like chin tucks and weighted neck curls are often believed to 'tighten' the area under the jaw and elevate the hyoid. This completely ignores how tonic vs phase muscle function actually operates. The muscles around the hyoid which I previously mentioned digastric, stylohyoid, mylohyoid and geniohyoid are primarily phasic meaning they are designed for short bursts of activity such as swallowing speech or jaw movement, not continuous postural support. When you train these muscles with high-intensity loads or repetitive concentric actions, you're not increasing their resting 'tone' you're increasing their contractile hypertrophy, which can actually make them more visually prominent at rest. Baseline tension, or tonic activity is governed more by neuromuscular patterning and posture, especially in muscles like the deep cervical flexors and longus colli, which are tonic by design. If FHP or dysfunctional tongue posture is present, the hyoid muscles will already be chronically overactivated just to hold your head up, adding load only worsens this. So while you may gain strength, you're reinforcing compensatory patterns and making your submental region appear bulkier and less ideal, not tighter.
The Fix
True improvements in resting posture and muscular tone depend on neuromotor re-education and re-establishing optimal muscle delegation patterns. This involves restoring the tonic function of deep cervical flexors, thoracic extensors, and scapular stabilizers (notably the lower trapezius, rhomboids, and serratus anterior) while downregulating compensatory overactivation in the suprahyoids and platysma. Stop trying to strengthen what's already doing too much but to restore proper muscle delegation through postural correction and reflexive deep muscle engagement.
The fix is to correct posture and reactivate the muscles that should be doing this job such as the deep neck flexors, thoracic extensors and scapular stabilizers.
Once posture is corrected and obviously tongue posture (common sense) , the hyoid muscles can relax and the hyoid naturally appears higher and tighter . not because it’s being actively pulled up, but because it's no longer being pulled down by dysfunctional muscular patterns. You’re not forcefully elevating the hyoid you’re removing the downward drag caused by poor posture and maladaptive neuromuscular compensation.
TL;DR (for the skeptics): A recessed hyoid and poor submental aesthetics are usually caused by dysfunctional posture and overactivation, not weakness. The fix is postural correction and tonic system retraining, not brute-force hypertrophy.
And remember, this isn't a be all end all if you're fucked your fucked don't blame me for your shit genetics, GL tho boys.
Tags: Neck Curls , Raise Hyoid , Chin Tucks , Side profile , Jawline , Suprahyoid.
There's a common misconception online that strengthening the hyoid muscles (digastric, stylohyoid, mylohyoid and geniohyoid) will lift the hyoid bone and improve the side profile.
This idea has some scientific backing such as in this study where elderly participants engaging in high-speed resistance exercises showed 'a significant increase in the vertical position of the hyoid bone at rest,' It’s important to recognize the context. These findings reflect outcomes in sarcopenic, postural-compromised elderly populations, not young individuals. The neuromuscular adaptations and myofascial architecture of aging adults differ significantly from that of healthy, younger subjects.
The Problem
However, What I’ve gathered through both research and observing anecdotal patterns particularly in individuals presenting with a “low hyoid” or recessed submental region (yes anecdotal but i've seen a lot of posts) ,is that the root cause isn’t muscle hypotonia or underactivation. Rather, it’s chronic hypertonicity and overuse of the suprahyoid complex, largely secondary to forward head posture (FHP) and poor cervical-thoracic alignment. (In simpler terms) the issue isn't weakness, but chronic overuse of the hyoid muscles due to FHP. In FHP, deep neck flexors and postural stabilizers become weak, forcing the suprahyoid and platysma muscles to take a lot more of that load. These are not supposed to hold up the head, so they become tight, thickened and visually more prominent which lowers the apparent hyoid appearance and ruins side profile aesthetics.
Misconceptions
A key misunderstanding lies in how people conceptualize “muscle tone.” Most assume that increasing strength or hypertrophy correlates directly with increased resting tension and improved appearance, aka strengthening exercises like chin tucks and weighted neck curls are often believed to 'tighten' the area under the jaw and elevate the hyoid. This completely ignores how tonic vs phase muscle function actually operates. The muscles around the hyoid which I previously mentioned digastric, stylohyoid, mylohyoid and geniohyoid are primarily phasic meaning they are designed for short bursts of activity such as swallowing speech or jaw movement, not continuous postural support. When you train these muscles with high-intensity loads or repetitive concentric actions, you're not increasing their resting 'tone' you're increasing their contractile hypertrophy, which can actually make them more visually prominent at rest. Baseline tension, or tonic activity is governed more by neuromuscular patterning and posture, especially in muscles like the deep cervical flexors and longus colli, which are tonic by design. If FHP or dysfunctional tongue posture is present, the hyoid muscles will already be chronically overactivated just to hold your head up, adding load only worsens this. So while you may gain strength, you're reinforcing compensatory patterns and making your submental region appear bulkier and less ideal, not tighter.
The Fix
True improvements in resting posture and muscular tone depend on neuromotor re-education and re-establishing optimal muscle delegation patterns. This involves restoring the tonic function of deep cervical flexors, thoracic extensors, and scapular stabilizers (notably the lower trapezius, rhomboids, and serratus anterior) while downregulating compensatory overactivation in the suprahyoids and platysma. Stop trying to strengthen what's already doing too much but to restore proper muscle delegation through postural correction and reflexive deep muscle engagement.
The fix is to correct posture and reactivate the muscles that should be doing this job such as the deep neck flexors, thoracic extensors and scapular stabilizers.
Once posture is corrected and obviously tongue posture (common sense) , the hyoid muscles can relax and the hyoid naturally appears higher and tighter . not because it’s being actively pulled up, but because it's no longer being pulled down by dysfunctional muscular patterns. You’re not forcefully elevating the hyoid you’re removing the downward drag caused by poor posture and maladaptive neuromuscular compensation.
TL;DR (for the skeptics): A recessed hyoid and poor submental aesthetics are usually caused by dysfunctional posture and overactivation, not weakness. The fix is postural correction and tonic system retraining, not brute-force hypertrophy.
And remember, this isn't a be all end all if you're fucked your fucked don't blame me for your shit genetics, GL tho boys.
Tags: Neck Curls , Raise Hyoid , Chin Tucks , Side profile , Jawline , Suprahyoid.
