Re: fat chin and neck!

Dear 3376,

I know some of what you are going through. I have always had a kind of 'underchin', which has enlarged and sort of joined with the jowls I've developed in the last decade or two. (I am 67.)

Feeling my underchin, I concluded that my lower jawbone just doesn't come as low as most people's. There are glands, etc., in there. Every doctor I've ever had examine me has remarked on 'enlarged glands', but suggested nothing for it, especially as I wasn't complaining.

I've also had 'enlarged tonsils' for all of my life; except that one finally disappeared a decade or so ago. (My parents wouldn't allow their removal in childhood. Smile.)

Here, on the CureZone, I've seen hints on possible cause(s).

One suggestion was that the body isn't getting enough water for saliva, and that it is 'hoarding' water in the underchin.

(I may be able to help this through my new practices of beginning every meal and snack with small bites of food with a bit of crushed kelp, followed by sips of water; and chewing every mouthful very thoroughly. Sometimes I swallow a bit of extra saliva after eating something.)

Posture may be the culprit in many conditions. (I don't yet know if posture affects health, or if health is reflected in posture. Perhaps it doesn't really matter what comes first.)

I'd love to find a local expert in Alexander Techniques. So far, I've been doing the four statements by myself for about two years, and have recently added two movements.

The way I have been practicing them, unguided, Alexander Techniques hurt! The weak neck muscles just aren't prepared to hold the head correctly.

I suggest that everyone get, at least, a five-minute evaluation from a good physiotherapist. (It may even be that one's shoes are straining posture and movement.)

Also, physiotherapists know lots of things to help people recovering from injuries, etc. I smashed a bundle of muscles in the front of my leg, and tried every wrong thing to do before I finally got it right.

(Using a wheeled walker as a 'scooter' to keep my leg up, the wheels locked up on a rubber mat and I went clean over it onto my face! Nose up, etc., I figured that was the end, for about half a second. Time suddenly slows down and you feel every part of the fall in slow motion. Not fun, just interesting.)

The shape of your neck is telling you something important, I believe.

There are many who study these signs, and who develop opinions on what to do.

If you have the money and the inclination, you may want to study some of those fields yourself. Otherwise, read all you can find on the different disciplines in your library, and search for good practitioners. Your intuition is a fine guide.

It is so fortunate that you are so young, and that you are smart enough to ask the question here. Do tell us what you learn. You are certainly not alone.

All my best,
fledgling