Sometimes I will yawn or just out of nowhere, and will get an extreme painful "cramp" almost like a 'charlie horse' in my neck that lasts for 20 or 30 seconds and hurts for upwards of an hour or two afterwards.

Also my throat has been still hurting/aching slightly on the right side of my esophogus, been over a month now.

Any idea why it is happening and what could it be?

YES! I am posting this right now while currently experiencing this painful event. I coughed and pulled something (this is my 4th time going through this) and experienced your "charley horse" situation for about 2 hours. Swallowing is very painful, but my experience suggests that dehydration MAY be related? On each occaision, 1- day after stomach flu-yawning, 2-in conjuction with a hang over, and this latest one, a 94 degree day after working in the yard without adequate hydration, my fault - and coughing. It usually involves one side of the throat and makes it very difficult to talk. Does this sound like yours? Can you associate any possible dehydration with your occurances? Its just an idea...
I forced myself to painfully sip water, or Gatorade for about an hour and it SLOWLY subsided. Coincidence?

Your's was the ONLY info I could find that sound like mine on the net. The medical links didn't seem to fit well and were very technical. Have you found any helpful info since March? Thought I was a freak? Even had to miss work once.
carol in Milwaukee

I too have had these painful experiences and am heading to the doctor tomorrow because I've now had lingering pain on the right side of my throat for two days. In the past I've had these very sharp and painful 'cramps' occur in the morning upon waking (usually when I yawn). They last only a second or two until I force myself to swallow which somehow alleviates the pain. This has happened maybe once or twice a year. Now I've had this lingering pain just to the right side of my adam's apple for two days. It's painful when I rub it (similar to muscle pain), and very painful when I swallow. I don't know that any of these are related to hydration, but I'll start drinking extra water today regardless.

Did either of you find an explanation? I've never had this pain last for so long which is why I just made a doctors appointment. It wasn't even brought on by a cramp this time, it just started to ache.

:confused: Yes I have experienced something like that last week. I was vomiting, (Which I have done rather frequently for the last few months but that is another matter.) all of a sudden I got a cramp in the front of my neck on the left side. It lasted only about 30 secs., but I almost had to 'pop' this area in the front before it would stop cramping!! This happened 2 more times, once while I leaned over the tub to wash my hair and the other when I stretched my head back over the back of the couch. I still can't turn my head to the right without some cramping pain. (I already have deg neck problems that this added to my misery:( .)I go to my ENT tomorrow and will ask him what could it be. I've asked my physical therapist and massage therapist and the have never heard of such a thing, they only came up with a muscle spasm perhaps but never heard of it popping like I had happen!!!:confused:

:confused: Yes I have experienced something like that last week. I was vomiting, (Which I have done rather frequently for the last few months but that is another matter.) all of a sudden I got a cramp in the front of my neck on the left side. It lasted only about 30 secs., but I almost had to 'pop' this area in the front before it would stop cramping!! This happened 2 more times, once while I leaned over the tub to wash my hair and the other when I stretched my head back over the back of the couch. I still can't turn my head to the right without some cramping pain. (I already have deg neck problems that this added to my misery:( .)I go to my ENT tomorrow and will ask him what could it be. I've asked my physical therapist and massage therapist and the have never heard of such a thing, they only came up with a muscle spasm perhaps but never heard of it popping like I had happen!!!:confused: :confused: :(

And just when you thought you were alone with your problem.
Last Thursday night, I yawned und boom there it was. The worst pain in my throat. I knew I had a cramp, but unlike cramps in my legs, I had no clue how to get rid of this one. I could not talk nor could I swallow, and I was scared to death. I woke up my husband, who I think was even more scared than I was, cause he thought I had a stroke.
He took me to the hospital. I took a full 2 hours for this cramp to ease up and my voice to return.It was very scary, that's for sure. It is now Monday and I am still hurting a lot in my throught especially when I swallow, but what really has me buffaloed, ever since this happended my blood pressure is sky high, and nobody seems to know why.
So I am getting an appointment today, to get some blood work done.

Oh by-the-way, in the hospital they told me that this is most likely from dehydration. So now I'm drinking lots of water every day.

Hi,

I was searching for someone that had this issue also. I've called it muscle spasm and have noted it feels like a cramp. My pain occurs at various parts of my throat and has occurred for the last 2 months (off and on). Today, I've noticed it has lingered on the left side for 2 days. I took my blood pressure in Target Tuesday and it said I was prehypertension. Also, I don't know how this happened. I am scared but want to understand what is wrong before I visit a doctor who I believe may tell me they can't find anything.

For the person getting a blood test, please share your results.

Oh, thank goodness... other people with this problem!

My story is that a few weeks ago, I was at Starbucks with my husband sipping on a peppermint mocha. We had a nice time, and came out to the car. I put my seatbelt on, zipped up my coat, yawned and tried to say something to him... and BAM. The feeling was akin to a vise grip around the throat, or, more accurately, a charlie horse wrapping around the underside of my chin and throat. It was the scariest feeling I've ever felt. I could barely breath and every movement of my body made it feel like the muscles in my throat were going to tear. I grabbed my husband's arm and whispered "stop the car". My whole face tensed up (I know I was making a weird face but I couldn't control it). Tears started streaming out of my eyes -- I'm not sure if that was part of it or if I was just so scared that I was crying-- and I could NOT speak out load. I just sat there in terror clenching his arm for what seemed like forEVER... but really was probably about a minute and a half. He asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital and I said no (no insurance). We waited in the car for ten minutes until the pain died down enough to let me breathe and speak. It took a long time for me to be able to stretch my neck/chin up and down. I tried to keep stretching so it wouldn't cramp up again. For the next three days, I had a terribly sore throat... I've had strep a few times and it felt exactly like that, except no mucus or fever.

It's been a few weeks, and the right side of my throat, sort of on the "adam's apple" area, is still very sore. Every so often I'll move my head a certain way and I feel it pop. When I press on it pretty hard I can feel a lump-- not sure if that's my gland, a tense muscle or what.

Now normally I'd be at the doctor in a heartbeat but I have no insurance and no money to pay for testing or anything.

I'm really worried.

Those of you who've gone to the doctor or had blood work... PLEASE follow up here and tell us what you found out... I'd like to have a vague idea of what to expect.

How to get rid of throat cramps:

Fill a 16 oz/500ml water bottle with room temperature water. Tilt your head up as far as you comfortably can. Drink the water in good sized swallows (not too small, not too big, just normal sized swallows) without stopping until you feel the "cramp" subside. It should take about 5 to 7 swallows. Repeat every time you get the cramp. If you have some type of cold, flu, or sore throat it could cause your throat to "cramp" up more often. Or it could just be that you opened your mouth when you were cold, drank something very cold, swallowed too much food or drink, or even just stretched the muscles in that area at the wrong time. For the most part it is not dangerous and it is quite common.
Hope this helped. :)

Something similar happens to me. The first time was about 5 years ago, and was triggered by yawning with my head in a funny position. The cramp always just to the right of my asophogus in the front.
No one I know has ever heard of this happening. I went to the Instacare and they just gave me a shot of painkillers and a couple of muscle relaxers. Really the only thing that helped was the passage of time. Every time i swallowed it felt like i was getting stabbed in the throat. It lasted for approximately 6 hours. It has happened to that extent about 5 times since then. Each time lasting several hours. Eventually if i hold absolutely still and remain calm for long enough it will just switch off, exactly like a cramp in your leg, and is only a bit sore afterwards.

Unfortunately lately i have been experiencing something related. Every few nights when i lay down to go to sleep i can't relax my throat and each time i get close to falling asleep, i feel it tense up, and a shock wave of fear goes through my body and jerks me back to consciousness. I have tried drinking large amounts of water, stretching, rubbing, different pillows, different sleeping positions, hot presses, and nothing helps. It goes on for hours like this, being jolted every time i am near to sleep. I don't have insurance right now so i can't get any kind of prescription, and mostly the doctors don't seem to know what causes this...

i have just recently experienced the "cramp" in my neck along side my throat on the right side. i woke up one morning and yawned and there it started. it lasted about 10 minutes and i was very scared. since then i feel a slight "twinge"as if it is going to do it again and i just try to stretch my neck a bit. i also have a slight "popping" feeling on either side of my throat as if i am popping a knuckle. throat seems a bit tighter these days but no problems swallowing unless i have the "cramp". have not seen doctor-almost afraid to ask in case they might think i am crazy. was a bit shocked to see quite of few of you with this dilemma. wont worry so much-see regular doctor for HRT peri-menopausal stuff on friday-maybe will mention it to her then. thanks for the forum.very helpful for me and theraputic too.

I too have had these neck cramps for about 10 years. They happen about once every two months and usually come when I have my neck turned at an awkward angle and happen to swallow. They usually last for a few seconds until I can extend my neck upwards and then swallow. This usually causes a "pop" (which other people in the room can hear) and then everything is fine, leaving a small residual pain for a few hours - just like a leg cramp. Things took a turn for the worse the other night when it wouldn't pop back in to place no matter how hard I tried. Eventually in a blind panic I went to hospital where they said there was nothing they could do because it was just a muscle spasm so they gave me diazepam and painkillers. After 36 hours these weren't helping and with nothing in my stomach I took an energy drink to help the weakness and lack of food. This hit my stomach, came straight back up again and then I realised that the pain had gone - it must have "popped" on the way back up. A bit extreme but maybe the answer is to bring something back up in the other direction rather than swallowing.

wow, I just stumbled upon these posts, and I too have this weird throat cramp thing, but mine just last a few seconds, sometimes several times a day, sometimes not at all. weird!!! I have no idea what it could be, and I never thought of mentioning it to the doc, but maybe now I will...

I get these every so often too and it's ALWAYS when I yawn. A hard lump forms just under my chin and is quite painful. If I release my jaw slowly from yawning, it seems to help a bit and then I massage the spot that tensed up. Even though I've had it a million times before, it still freaks me out whenever I get it.

I have been getting these cramps since 1995 and until today have never found anyone else who also has this problem. They are always on the left side of my throat and almost always when I'm about to fall asleep or just waking up. The first one lasted for 15 minutes and they now last 12 hours or more. It's incredibly painful to swallow or move my head or talk. I've been to see 3 ENTs, a neurologist, a gastroenterologist, 2 dentists and a few primary care physicians. One dentist thought I had TMJ and sent me to a specialist who gave me a muscle relaxer...which didn't work. The other doctors haven't given me any idea of what it could be...although the neurologist thought it could be psychological. Stress is usually the only answer I get even though I try to explain that I'm usually pretty relaxed or almost asleep when it happens! Hopefully you all have better luck at the doctor and I'd love to hear if anyone comes up with a solution! The only way that I know how to deal with it is to take a few Tylenol PMs and try to fall asleep. Slowly sipping hot tea makes the pain a bit more bearable. Although I have to admit that it is relieving to hear that other people have this problem too!

I too have had these cramps for quite some time now. They began when I yawned, but now do it when I'm looking down and sometimes when walking. I now get a quick headache just at the base of my head in back. I can massage it or put a lot of pressure to relieve the pain some and then stretch my head to the left and hold it for a while. Haven't been to the doctor about this. I'm afraid to.. I live in Germany and have found that the doctors here aren't all so informed or at least they send you from one doctor to another until you give up. I think it could be from stress.. but am afraid it is something worse... Anyone have any idea of what this is?

Oh my God! You have no idea how relieved I am to find out I'm not the only person this happens to! I've been experiencing this for several years now. I find that the pain radiates up to my ear as well. I've also noticed in the past few months that after I experience these "cramps" or spasms, I suffer from frequent episodes of dizziness in the days that follow. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm very anxious to know if anyone has found out anything from their doctor?

I also experience this cramp or muscle spasm. The first time it happened i was awkwardly using the phone and it struck me. Swallowing is incredibly painfull and breathing deeply causes me to swallow which intensifys the pain. Luckily the first time it happened a friend was present which specializes in some muscle therapy. She massaged my throat a bit and she triggered that "pop" on the left side of my throat. The muscle popped or whatever happens and the cramp/pain imediately goes away.

I dont believe this happens directly because of dehydration. Because of sports. I drink a lot of water and have a steady hydrated diet. I was 19 when it first happened and it occurs every two months or so. If you all are experiencing something similar. I would recommend that you try to force it to pop back into place. It happens on the left side of my throat, so i take my left hand- with my palm facing towards me i use the tips of my fingers to press down along the left side of my throat. I push down till i feel a certain spot where i can press my throat to one side..i hear a slight pop each time i press down.. when the cramp is happening the pop is 10x louder. The relief is amazing. I dont know if its the same for females but man it is one quick fix


I too have had these neck cramps for about 10 years. They happen about once every two months and usually come when I have my neck turned at an awkward angle and happen to swallow. They usually last for a few seconds until I can extend my neck upwards and then swallow. This usually causes a "pop" (which other people in the room can hear) and then everything is fine, leaving a small residual pain for a few hours - just like a leg cramp. Things took a turn for the worse the other night when it wouldn't pop back in to place no matter how hard I tried. Eventually in a blind panic I went to hospital where they said there was nothing they could do because it was just a muscle spasm so they gave me diazepam and painkillers. After 36 hours these weren't helping and with nothing in my stomach I took an energy drink to help the weakness and lack of food. This hit my stomach, came straight back up again and then I realised that the pain had gone - it must have "popped" on the way back up. A bit extreme but maybe the answer is to bring something back up in the other direction rather than swallowing.

ughhh this post made me shiver. i hope to never experience one as bad as you have. 36 hours would be unbarable.

Ive searched and searched the net. Ive seen the ENT doc too many times, to care to return. My regular doc has not a clue. Ive read everyones responses and glad that Im not the only one. I refused to believe I was a hypochondriac. Too much pain to believe that!

I first felt this pain in microbiology class in college back in the 80's. My professor was pretty knowledgeable so I asked her about it after class. She said it was a backed up saliva duct. It went away for a long time. Didnt think much of it. Over the years it would come back if I laid wrong on a pillow or held a telephone the wrong way or stuck a q-tip in my ear. One doctor says its all TMJ and I need 2 cranks put in my mouth. Another says surgery and wire my mouth shut for a month. I DONT THINK SO!!!!!!! Another says its all allergies. And two just dont know.

Symptoms: The most excruciating cramping painful spasm ever in either side of the throat, both sides of the throat, or the middle of the throat, or all of the above at the same time. Increased saliva(great flood, where does so much saliva come from), which drools out of your mouth, flies out of your mouth, and completely fills the entire mouth. Intense gagging!!! And then the most violent cough. Last a few seconds up to minutes. Eyes water like a water fall. The coughing spell weakens you for a moment. You constantly have to clear your throat.

Nothing seems to stop the pain and onset of coughing in response to the painful spasm. Water doesnt help. Lord knows a drink a river a day. I eat pretty healthy, minus the ocassional chocolate attack. Im getting rid of my cats, but had this problem way before I got them. Cannot get rid of my carpet. I live in an apartment. *shrug* And I get hardly any sleep, because of this spell. Its worse when I try to sleep. Just to lay my throat on a pillow sets it off violently. Im taking sleeping pills now. Its the only way to sleep. Otherwise Im up all night gagging. Its gotten so bad now that its affecting my work. I meet with CEO's and presidents of companies and have to excuse myself to gag and cough to death. Its awful. I limit my conversations with others, because those attacks always pop up. I never know when. I feel badly in church and public places when I get the pain and my eyes and mouth water and I gag and cough all over the place. I just dont know what to do anymore. Im miserable and wish some one could tell me what this was and help me get rid of it. :confused:

Well, I am the original poster, and its been around 20 months since the original post. I actually forgot all about it until it happened to me again today and I went searching the net and I was surprised to see I had posted on this before!

Needless to say I have spoken to my doctor on several occasions, and other experts and none of them have any explanation for me. They always say its probably dehydration or that I need to relax (anxiety/stress) or perhaps some stretching exercises would help. I was also told it could be allergies and even one suggested an infection in my gums.

Hopefully someone out there will get a diagnosis soon. I did have one individual tell me it may be a symptom of MS, but I couldn't find anything to corroborate it.

The symptoms are still the same. I will yawn or feel a tightening in my jaw, and suddenly on the right side of my throat just under the chin I can physically feel it ball up/tighten. The pain is extreme, but it usually subsides within 15-30 seconds and the pain lingers for an hour or two.

I am glad my post was able to give some of you comfort, as I too thought I was crazy, as when I would talk about these episodes with others they looked at me like I was nuts. Needless to say, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

I forgot to mention that I was also told it could be Trigeminal Neuralgia:

http://www.ohsu.edu/neurosurgery/conditions/tn-description.shtml

I was also told it was a symptom of TMJ.

Folks call it "CHIN CRAMP" or "TONGUE CRAMP" or "UNDER CHIN CRAMP" or "JAW CRAMP" or even "Chinitis"

Here is a good link of a possible reason as well:

http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/43990.htm

Below is even more suffers talking about it:

http://tedpearson.com/****/?p=887

Hope some of this stuff helps.

I just had this happen to me last night as I was rolling around on the floor with my 2 year old son. I was by myself with both my boys and my wife was in the shower and it struck. I heard my throat pop and I thought that somehow a bone had stabbed through my trachea or something. This is the first time that I ever thought that I might die.
I couldn't breath or talk and I didn't know what I did to hurt myself. So, I started to try to talk but could only get out a whisper. My wife didn't hear me and I started to be able to breathe. I walked over and knocked on her door.
When she came out she thought that I was playing a sick joke. Slobber was coming out of mouth and I had a horrible look on my face. She had never seen me in such pain.
So, I was praying and pleading with God to heal me up.
I was trying to think, did I tear a muscle or do I have a cramp? Are there bones in my voice box? What if I need to go to the Doc? I don't have insurance, what if I need surgery?
I tried drinking water and that really hurt. I couldn't even swallow spit that was going down the back of my throat.
The whole while my wife is trying to process all of it.
Then I decide to reach down my throat and see if I feel a bone in there.
So, I press four fingers on my tongue pretty firmly and I move them to the back of my tongue into my throat. Then I went as far as I could not worrying about vomitting. I was already feeling like I would from the pain.
Then I felt something in my throat. I am not exactly sure what it was my I decided to try to push it back into place (wherever that may be). I just pushed it down as far as I could reach and I took my hand out. Then I swallowed and I had about an 80% improvement. So, I reach back in and pushed it further. I felt tons better. Except that my muscles are still sore and tense. Feeling like they could cramp any second and it is now 24 hours later.
I was glad to find this forum. What good are doctors if every time I search out a problem all of the forums for most problems say, "the DR's couldn't tell me what was wrong. They just prescribed me so and so..." that is frustrating. I am sure that there are some good doc's maybe we just have to many of them. We need some kind of filter so it is easy for the good ones to stand out from the not so good.
Thanks guys, I just thought I would share my gross but desperate fix for this problem.
There is no way I could have drank some warm water like someone else suggested.

Hi,
I too am glad that others have experienced this - in a sad kind of way! I don't think everyone is describing exactly the same thing, but I've experienced what some of you have written about - the sudden pain after moving neck/holding phone between neck and shoulder/ or even just yawning. It first happened when I was 20 (now 33) and it happens about every year or so, though I think it is becoming more often, happening with less effort (ie just yawning) and sometimes harder to fix!!!

Like the quote below, I've felt the same feeling. Extremely painful to swallow, and I have to "pop" whatever it is back in, and then I'm fine (a bit of lingering muscle soreness). A few things have helped the "pop" - sometimes my husband has been able to massage the area (from midline to the side that is sore), once I've given up with the massage and lay down on that side and I guess it relaxed everything enough to loosen things up. I'm actually a family physician but still have no idea what this is (which is frustrating)!!! I've been to doctors and ENT - ENT did a CT scan on me and said that the horns on the thyroid cartilage were a bit calcified but didn't think that would contribute. It just all sounds very mechanical (sudden onset, quick relief with the pop), that I think it is one of the strap muscles in the anterior neck getting caught somewhere? possibly the horns of the thyroid cartilage...but the only way to be sure would be to get a CT scan when it's actually happening. Anyway, I'm relieved it's not just me, and I also recommend trying to find your own way to "pop" the muscle back or whatever's happening!!!:)

[QUOTE=santan4;3232318]She massaged my throat a bit and she triggered that "pop" on the left side of my throat. The muscle popped or whatever happens and the cramp/pain imediately goes away.

I would recommend that you try to force it to pop back into place. It happens on the left side of my throat, so i take my left hand- with my palm facing towards me i use the tips of my fingers to press down along the left side of my throat. I push down till i feel a certain spot where i can press my throat to one side..i hear a slight pop each time i press down.. when the cramp is happening the pop is 10x louder. The relief is amazing. I dont know if its the same for females but man it is one quick fix

I've had this for many years (since 1994) and it eventually led to me being diagnosed with MS. While not a sure sign of MS, there are many of us who have MS who experience this symptom. It is rather common within the MS community. Good luck with your diagnosis.

I experienced a throat cramp a few weeks ago upon waking up from sleeping in an awkward position. My throat hurt for several days after, and it was very frustrating trying to communicate to people that it didn't feel like a normal "infectious" sore throat. Eventually the pain went away.

Now, a few weeks later, I just yawned and the same pain came back. A hard knot formed between my chin and my Adam's apple, and I felt like I was going to pass out from the pain.

I'm afraid this will take a few days to go away because it still hurts to look up and swallow. Why do I always get these weird health annoyances?!

To the people who have been to doctors about this: What did they say? Is it anything to worry about?

*EDIT* It seems many of us are anxious people? I've struggled with anxiety and panic attacks my whole life and MANY of these weird symptoms I get are manifestations of anxiety. I bet you any money it plays a part.