Feel like something is stuck in my throat – this is one of the most common complaints that people generally come up with. According to many studies, people complain of something being stuck in their throat even though they know nothing is there at least once in their lifetime.
The point to note is that this feeling does not cause any problem when swallowing food or drinks. However, it might be a little scary and uncomfortable to deal with and complicate an individual’s daily life.
The sensation that describes ‘feel like something is stuck in my throat’ is called Globus Pharyngeus or Globus Sensation. In this article, we have discussed what Globus Sensation is, its causes, and how to get rid of it. Also, we have listed some more reasons that give the feeling of I feel like something is stuck in my throat. Read on to get an insight.
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Feel like something is stuck on my throat
Globus Sensation meaning
Have you ever got a feeling of some crumbs stuck on your throat or your chest while swallowing something? Globus sensation gives a similar feeling except that nothing is stuck on the throat or the chest.
Globus Sensation, also referred to as Global Pharyngeus, is a persistent feeling of lumping in the throat, although there is no physical blockage.
Global Sensation is not painful and mostly does not hint at any underlying conditions. However, it can annoy and irritate your throat. This sensation could both come and go or be persistent and stay for a good time, hindering a person’s regular life.
Symptoms of Globus Sensation
With the feeling of something being stuck on the throat or the chest, you can also come across a few more symptoms. These signs and symptoms are directly proportional to stress. This literally means, that the more you freak out and take stress, these symptoms get worse.
To mention, a few of these signs and symptoms are:
- The throat itching
- Chronic and persisting cough
- Hoarseness
- The throat swelling up
- Mucus built on the mouth, nose, or sinus
What causes Global Sensation?
To be exact, what causes Global Sensation is still not known. Although, during recent times, doctors consider the symptoms to be real, in previous times, it was believed that these symptoms, as faced by many people, were hysterical and not happening in reality. The root cause for Global Sensational could both be physical and psychological. This condition is widespread for people who tend to hold their emotions back. This can result in the person becoming anxious and stressed, which can trigger Global Sensation.
Causes of Global Sensation are:
GERD
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, also known as GERD, is one of the leading causes of Global Sensation. This is acid reflux, where a person’s food travels back to the throat through the food pipe called the esophagus.
Cricopharyngeal Spasm
This occurs due to a muscle spasm that generally occurs on the throat.
Sinusitis
Sinusitis happens due to inflamed or growth of the sinuses, swelling of the sinus, or any sinus infection. Some of the symptoms of sinusitis are nasal congestion, runny nose, headache, and facial pain. While some sinusitis is acute and goes away on its own, some chronic sinusitis might require antibiotics.
Hiatus Hernia
Hiatus hernia is a condition in which a part of the stomach moves to a person’s chest cavity through the opening of the esophagus.
Post-Nasal Drip
Post Nasal Drip occurs when the accumulation of mucus or nasal secretion drains or moves down to the throat, which in turn causes a person to cough and creates congestion. These are not usually caused by any underlying disease and are generally a result of cough and cold.
Goiter
Goiter is a condition when Adam’s Apple, commonly referred to as the thyroid, swells and enlarges abnormally.
What are some exercises to treat Globus Sensation?
You can perform some exercises regularly if you are suffering from Globus Sensation. The key to getting some results from these exercises is not to rush, relax, and pay attention to all the movements. It is essential to understand that some of these exercises involve the neck and the shoulders and thus must be performed with utmost attention and delicacy.
Some of these exercises are:
Chewing Exercise
If you have a tight tongue or jaws, doing this fun exercise would relieve you. Performing this exercise would help to release the pressure and relax the muscles. Do this exercise at least once a day to get the best result.
The steps to perform this exercise are:
- The first step of this exercise is to imagine having a hard toffee inside your mouth.
- Imagine as if you are moving the candy back and forth and then left and right with the help of your tongue. The exercise is to move your tongue similarly.
- With time, make firm movements, thereby exaggerating it. You can imagine that the candy is getting bigger, so you need more strength to push it on the different parts of the mouth.
Breathing Exercise
Also called Abdominal Breathing, performing this exercise would help one release the pressure of their core and abdominal muscles and relax them. You can repeat the exercise as many times as you want. This is for the fact that this exercise is low intensity and is of less impact.
Here are the steps to perform this exercise:
- The first step is to find a nice chair to sit on and relax to begin this exercise.
- Sit on the chair and rest your hands on your belly.
- Exhale sharply. Blow air out from your mouth. Imagine as if you are blowing a balloon. You would notice your hands and your belly move in as you blow out the air. While blowing out, you would see your upper chest and shoulders in a relaxed position at this point.
- As you reach the end of exhaling, relax. You would notice that your lungs are reinflating naturally with time.
Shoulder and Neck exercise
You can do this exercise at any time of the day to relax your neck and your shoulders.
Here are the steps to perform the shoulder and neck exercise:
- For the exercise to begin, find a pleasant and comfortable chair to sit on.
- Begin the exercise by dropping your chin towards the chest. Your face should face the floor. Please stay in the position for around 10 seconds before tilting your head up back to the first position.
- Now take your head up and make it face towards the roof. Hold the position for around 10 seconds before facing the front.
- For the next exercise, take your arms up and hold the shoulders in front of your body. Imagine as if you are pushing a person. Hold the position for 10 seconds before dropping it.
- The next step is to shrug your shoulders. Hold this position for another 10 seconds before dropping the shoulders.
Yawning exercise
Yawning is one of the best methods to relax the throat and jaw muscles. The good thing about the exercise is that you can do it at any time of the day. Repeat this exercise as and when you want to.
Here are the steps to perform the yawning exercise:
- For doing this exercise, find a good place to sit for your comfort. Ensure that your shoulders and neck have the same alignment.
- The next step is to imagine as if you are yawning. Open your mouth wide open and breathe in. When you do this exercise, you will notice tension building in your throat and tongue.
- The third step is to breathe out slowly and relax.
Repeat each exercise at least three times for it to work well.
Other reasons why do I feel like something is stuck in my throat
We often get the feeling and see people complaining feel like something is stuck in my throat. As mentioned in the article previously, Globus Sensation is the root cause. However, there could also be other reasons to get this feeling. To mention, two of the other most common culprits that makes a person feel like – I feel like there is something stuck in my throat, are:
Dysphagia
One of the problems that can give a sensation that resembles an individual complaining, ‘feel like something is stuck in my throat’ is dysphagia. The difficulty in swallowing food, drinks, or even one’s spit could originate anywhere in the esophagus, mouth, or throat. Although this does not cause any breathing issues, it could get uncomfortable, leading to irritation.
Referred to swallowing disorder, dysphagia can occur at any three stages of the passage of food, namely, oral, pharyngeal, esophageal.
Various reasons could lead to dysphagia. It could be a muscle disorder, a blockage in the throat, or any brain disorder. The treatment to cure this depends on the reason for what caused it.
As mentioned, three parts can cause difficulty in swallowing. To understand in detail, they are:
Oral cavity dysphagia
This problem with dysphagia lies in the mouth. There could be several causes that lead to this. Some of them are any kind of neuromuscular problems, weakness in the tongue (mainly caused as an effect of a stroke), or any difficulty in chewing the food.
Some of the consequences of oral cavity dysphagia are problems that occur in a person’s general health, choking, aspiration pneumonia, dehydration, malnutrition, and in rare cases death.
Oropharyngeal dysphagia
Oropharyngeal dysphagia happens when an individual feels like something is stuck in their throat due to problems in their throat and sometimes their mouth. This condition is common in people who have neurological or muscular problems. There are various signs and symptoms to recognize if a person has oropharyngeal dysphagia. Some of them are:
- Change in the voice of a person
- Drastic weight loss
- Recurrent pneumonia
- Difficulty in swallowing that leads to coughing
- Choking while swallowing
- Sialorrhea
Esophageal dysphagia
Esophageal dysphagia is a feeling of a crumb of food getting stuck in the throat or the chest after a person swallows food. This problem occurs in the esophagus. Also referred to as food obstruction, esophageal dysphagia is reportedly one of the most common reasons that make a person feel like something is stuck in their throat.
Dysphagia from GERD
Another problem that can result in the feeling that resembles ‘feel like something is stuck in my throat’ is dysphagia from GERD or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. This is one of the most chronic diseases that affect many people.
Many muscles in your tongue and mouth get to work when an individual swallows any food or drink. One of their major function is to protect the windpipe so that the lungs are protected and let the food pass to the stomach through the esophagus.
In some people, the lower esophageal sphincter also called the LES relaxes too much, causing the stomach acid to re-enter the esophagus. This causes a burning sensation and makes one feel like something is stuck in their throat.
Final Thoughts
A lot of times people complain, ‘I feel like something is stuck in my throat.’ While the reasons differ from one to another, everyone must visit a doctor for immediate assistance.