“Get on Your High Horse”:
Tags: Posture, Neck Health, Horseback Riding, Adjustment, Wellbeing

“Get on Your High Horse”:

First off, you are probably wondering why someone would say, “get on your high horse” vs. “get off your high horse” I’ll cover that later. Next, you may be asking what “palpating” is. Palpating is another word for manipulating as in physically moving or adjusting. Lastly, you might also want to know what the “Hyoid Bone” is. The Hyoid Bone is located in the front of the neck underneath the chin. It’s horseshoe shaped with the tips of the “U” pointing towards the back. Now that we have covered the terms, let’s get down to connecting these terms and the quote!

Palpating the Hyoid

One day while at work (before the pandemic), I noticed pressure in my neck and throat. I cocked my head back to feel around as my physician has done. My fingers fit nicely in the space between the outside of my neck and around the vertebrae. I noticed that it felt like things had shifted — like the bones or muscles or something was like a Jenga tower. So, I gently tried to nudge the pieces back into alignment. There was popping! In. My. Neck. It was creepy, but also satisfying. The pressure instantly alleviated and things felt like they were no longer a jacked up Jenga tower.

Over time, I started doing this any time there was a twinge in my throat and neck. I had never heard of anyone doing it and did not think much of it until most recently when I went for my physical. I mentioned that my lymph nodes had been up and down in the last couple weeks…did it have anything to do with adjusting the front of my neck? My physician had never heard of someone “adjusting the front of their neck,” and ordered an ultrasound.

Nothing came back on the ultrasound. While I awaited those results, I searched the internet. My physician’s comment about never hearing of someone doing the “adjusting” kept nagging me. Lo and behold, I discovered it’s a technique called “palpating the hyoid.” I felt vindicated and fascinated.

The hyoid floats in the neck, but is held down by muscles and connective tissues (see the diagram to the left). It is integral part of digestion, in that it assists with swallowing and moving the tongue (verywell health 2020). This bone also helps with breathing and respiration.

Reading this information, I wanted to know more. This is where the “high horse” comes into play.

“Get On Your High Horse”

Fran Griffith is a Rider Biomechanics Coach, a person who trains people on how to ride a horse. Fran has a blog where they instruct people on different aspects of horse riding. The main focus is posture. Perfect posture is an integral part of horse riding as it helps decrease bodily injury and muscle weakness. In the “Hyoid” blog entry, Fran details why good posture in the neck, stemming from the hyoid bone can make or break horse riding:

When our hyoid bone drops down and forwards, our chin juts out and our neck and upper back respond by collapsing and curving forward. — Fran Griffith

While horse riding is a small subset of the population, Fran’s advice can be applicable to various areas of one’s daily life and routine. Maybe you sit in a cubicle for most of your day (or at home because of the pandemic)? Maybe you are on your feet all day? Maybe you are at a job where you are on your feet most of the day, but also bending down, over, sideways? Either way, having good posture while doing any or all of these activities can only help alleviate injuries, aches, pains, and muscle weakness. So, moral of the story? Get up on that “high horse,” work on your posture, and go forth riding confidently on this intriguing knowledge about the anatomical parts of your neck! I’ll meet you at the sunset for some good ‘ol savasana/R & R/siesta with proper posture of course.