Posted by sunshine on November 10, 19102 at 22:13:20:
In Reply to: Bicycling solved my Lump in Throat problem! posted by Henry F. on September 26, 19102 at 16:31:05:
Hello
I find that jogging and running seem to do the same things for me, that they temporarily ease the tightness that goes along with this.
It seems to include loss of enjoyment in life in my case. I constantly am faced with this and it tired me out so
:
: What a relief to find that there are so many people displaying the same annoying discomfort that is the throat lump. After reading through a goodly portion of the postings, I've noticed a few people that had the gassiness/burpiness that I constantly feel. What I haven't seen mentioned though is the problem of trying to burp, and having food come up the esophagus instead. It isn't acidic, which leads me to believe that the food didn't ever make it all the way to my stomach. It seems a logical explanation for a lump in the throat, if in fact there is some sort of object lodged down there.
: : I have been for a barium swallowing/upper GI, to no avail. Everything was normal. I somehow question the validity of that test though, since you're swallowing a liquid, and not solid food.
: : Am I the only one here with this particular strain of the lump? Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?
: : One other thing. I'm only 25, and relatively healthy, but I was convinced that I had throat cancer, due to smoking. I was finally able to quit a couple of weeks ago, only to find that the sensation went away about a two days later. Came back a couple days after that though, so I think the act of quitting might have relieved some stress, and made it go away. I'm speculating here, but that's what these postings are here for, right?
: :How bicycling helped my cricopharyngeal spasm / lump in throat.
: I’m a 42 year old male who incurred an injury to the vocal cords
: through improper singing technique. I continued the pejorative
: singing practice for several weeks and then continued to speak softly
: after seeing a doctor. My vocal cords only healed when I ceased
: from speaking altogether. A feeling of a lump in the throat remained.
: It would show up as I spoke. This was several months after the initial
: damage. After my doctor pronounced my vocal cords healed he
: informed me that I had bowed vocal cords. This produced a hoarse
: voice. A speech therapist was recommended. The doctor suggested
: that the injury had weakened the muscles of the vocal cords and that
: careful vocal exercise would rebuild that muscle helping to close the gap
: between the cords. Adducting the cords to form a sound strained the cords.
: I would feel a twinge in the throat within the Adams apple. This
: would spread to other muscles and even up under the chin and around
: the front and side neck muscles. Posture also had an influence. If I
: craned forward over the computer keyboard the same spasm would
: result. In that case I could slow the spasming process by straitening up
: or leaving the computer and walking about. I was intent on seeing the
: therapist only after the feeling of a lump and spasming in the throat had
: subsided. It occurred to me that cycling might have a good
: effect on the problem. My reason was that if I could get more blood
: supply to the throat and even to the vocal cords by a good physical
: workout, this would help with the healing and the spasms. I knew that it
: would take more than just a mild ride in the country. I would need
: over an hour of cranking pedals at a moderate rate to get any results.
: I chose a mountain bike with street tires and kept it in the lower gears
: to emphasize the cardiovascular action. I drank a lot of water.
: I rode at a moderate speed of between 8 and 12 miles per hour for 16
: miles late at night. After the first few miles I experienced discomfort
: in the throat but was confident that I was not doing serious damage
: because a doctor had assured me that the cords were healed. I
: proceeded cautiously still maintaining a steady pace. Some discomfort
: was experienced in the throat on and off throughout the first trip.
: The result of the first ride was a slight waning of the intensity of the
: spasm. I awoke that night having to fight for breath once or twice.
: I thought this might be due to the tiredness of the larynx muscles after
: the workout. I also used the bike to do some short trips around the
: neighborhood at nearly the same speeds. After doing that exercise for
: several days, I noticed a slight improvement in the throat. I also noticed
: that I had more energy. The muscles within the larynx were also getting
: a good workout holding the vocal folds open for more air flow. Most of
: the brain activity will be used to signal the skeletal and cardiovascular
: muscles as opposed to the swallowing muscles. Interestingly enough,
: I managed to control the spasming until an unrelated injury forced me to
: stop riding the mountain bike. The spasming returned so I switched to
: a recumbent bicycle with very good results. No more spasming occurred.
: The bicycle exercise was certainly responsible for relieving the spasms.
: The most effective things to halt my lump in throat problem were:
: 1. Prayer
: 2. Drinking lots of water.
: 3. Starting a good cardiovascular exercise program.