Abstract
This report describes an 81-year-old male with a history of posterior cervical fusion who developed dysphagia following surgical treatment for lateral oropharyngeal wall cancer and lower gingival cancer. Indirect training, such as teaching the patient how to regulate the tension in the neck muscles, enabled him to keep his chin down, thus resulting in a short-term improvement of the dysphagia symptoms. Chin tuck, also known as chin down, has no clear anatomical definition, and it includes various positions in clinical practice because the cervical spine is involved in multiple reflexes. Guidance was provided for a chin tuck position (flexion of the upper cervical spine and extension of the lower cervical spine) with regard to the trigeminocervical reflex. An evaluation of swallowing function following confirmation of the anatomical position on X-rays revealed the importance of upper cervical spine flexion. This finding was consistent with the patient's history of posterior cervical fusion. The effects of chin tuck are currently being investigated according to different definitions. Further guidance and investigations of the effects based on an anatomical definition of chin tuck is necessary for a more accurate evaluation of such patients.
