Your Hyoid Bone: Small But Mighty
The hyoid bone is a small but crucial structure located in your throat, just below and behind your chin. Although it’s often overlooked, this U-shaped bone plays a surprisingly vital role in your body. Pronounced “high-oid” (with emphasis on the first syllable), your hyoid is unique because it doesn’t form a joint with any other bones, unlike all of the other bones in your body. In fact, it stands completely on its own, suspended by muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
So, what does this bone actually do? A lot. Your hyoid serves as a stabilizer for your mandible (jaw bone) and provides a base for the muscles of your tongue and throat, enabling you to speak, swallow, and move food around in your mouth. It also supports your larynx (voice box), thyroid cartilage, and esophagus. In essence, the hyoid is an unsung hero of many everyday functions—without it, speaking and swallowing would be nearly impossible.
The Hyoid’s Unique Structure and Function
What makes the hyoid particularly interesting is its independence. Unlike other bones in your body, it doesn’t directly connect to any other bone. Instead, it relies on a network of 14 pairs of muscles, with tendons and ligaments that connect it to your skull, spine, jaw, sternum, shoulder blades, larynx, and thyroid. This complex muscle network provides support, movement, and stabilization for the throat and neck.
These muscle groups can be broken down into three main categories:
Infra-hyoids: These muscles extend below the hyoid and support the larynx and thyroid.
Supra-hyoids: These muscles extend above the hyoid and form the base of your mouth and jaw, helping to support your tongue for speaking, swallowing, and chewing.
Retro-hyoids: These muscles attach behind the hyoid and extend to the sides and base of your skull, helping to stabilize the jaw.
With so many attachments, it's no wonder that imbalances in this muscle network can occur. If the hyoid becomes misaligned, it can lead to a variety of symptoms, including throat tension, difficulty swallowing, problems with chewing or speaking (such as frequently biting the inside of your cheek or needing to exert more effort to speak), voice changes without illness, neck pain, headaches, TMJ dysfunction, and even teeth clenching and grinding.
How Craniosacral Therapy Can Help
The good news is that craniosacral therapy can help address these misalignments and restore balance to the hyoid and its surrounding muscles. In my practice, I’ve found that most clients dealing with neck pain also have tension in one or more of the hyoid muscle groups. Utilizing specific and targeted craniosacral therapy techniques, we can release this tension and bring your body back into alignment.
If you’re struggling with neck tension—whether it feels like it’s coming from your neck or throat—I encourage you to try craniosacral therapy. Many clients report immediate relief at the end of the session, along with relaxation, stress regulation, and a sense of decompression. After a few sessions, clients typically report lasting relief from hyoid imbalance, leading to increased comfort and ease in the throat, neck, jaw, and skull. Other benefits include improved sinus function, clearer speech, improved resilience, and enhanced mental clarity.
With continued treatment and ongoing maintenance, most clients experience lasting improvements in their overall well-being, increased energy levels, improved balance, and improved integration. At MKE Mindbody Wellness, we can work together to release tension throughout your neck, particularly in the hyoid region, and help you feel more balanced, regulated, and at-ease in your body.
Wishing you continued wellness and health.
Emily Klik, LMT CST