Diaphragm spasm usually scares patients. Experiencing this unpleasant sensation, people easily panic. Suddenly a person squeezes his chest and there is a feeling of lack of air. Most often, this condition does not pose a great danger to health. But in some cases, involuntary contractions of the diaphragmatic muscle can be a sign of pathology. Why do cramps occur? And how to relax the diaphragm? We will consider these issues in the article.
What it is
The diaphragm is a large muscle involved in the breathing process. It separates the chest area from the abdominal cavity. When a person takes a breath, then this muscle contracts. The chest expands and air enters the lungs.
During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes. This allows carbon dioxide to escape from the lungs.
What happens during spasm of the diaphragm? There is an involuntary contraction of this muscle, not associated with breathing. If a spasm occurs on inspiration, then it becomes difficult for a person to gain air into the lungs. If contraction occurs during exhalation, the patient cannot release carbon dioxide from the lungs. Cramping can be quite painful, but may not cause much discomfort.
Sometimes patients describe their sensations as a “flutter” in the chest. In this case, they have frequent, but very short cramps. A person physically feels small twitches of the diaphragmatic muscle.
Cramping usually lasts a very short time. They suddenly arise, and then just as suddenly cease.
Symptomatology
Symptoms and causes of diaphragm spasm may be different. The manifestations of this disorder largely depend on what exactly caused the sudden muscle cramp. Cramping may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- difficulty breathing in or out;
- soreness in the chest radiating to the stomach or back;
- nausea and vomiting;
- hiccup;
- coughing
- difficulty swallowing water and food;
- shortness of breath.
These manifestations can have varying degrees of intensity. How severe discomfort in the chest is depends on the cause of the cramping.
Causes
Why does the phrenic muscle begin to contract suddenly? Usually, this condition is preceded by exposure to various provoking factors. Doctors distinguish the following causes of diaphragm spasm:
- gross mechanical impact on the chest area (e.g., bruise or shock);
- heavy sports training;
- irritation of nerve endings;
- hernias.
There is also a rare disease - diaphragm flutter. It is with him that patients feel a “flutter” in the chest.
Next, we look at the symptoms of diaphragm spasm and treatment, depending on the cause of this condition.
Hit
Most often, spasm occurs with bruises. This usually happens when a person gets hit in the area of the solar plexus. The risk of such damage is especially great among athletes involved in boxing, martial arts, rugby. Less commonly, an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm occurs when an unsuccessful fall on the chest or abdomen occurs.
When hit in the solar plexus, a person experiences sharp pain. For some time, he cannot take a breath or exhale due to a strong spasm of the diaphragm. The patient may even pass out due to a lack of oxygen.
If the bruise was not severe, then very soon breathing is restored, and the person's well-being returns to normal. However, blows to the solar plexus often have serious consequences. Injury to this area can lead to rupture of the muscle, as well as provoke the appearance of diaphragmatic hernias in the future. The weaker the muscles of the abdomen and chest are developed in a person, the more dangerous the consequences of such a blow.
How to remove a diaphragm spasm after a bruise? To restore breathing, a person needs to stand up, leaning forward with his body a little, and put his hands on the table. If the blow was not too strong, then the spasm will soon pass.
If a person has lost consciousness after an impact, then he needs to be laid to one side and an indirect heart massage is performed. Then urgently need to call a doctor.
Seek medical help also in those cases if after a stroke the pain does not disappear for a long time and at the same time nausea, vomiting, heart pain, involuntary bowel movements are observed. Such manifestations may indicate a serious injury, the treatment of which can only be done by a doctor.
Physical stress
Spasms of the diaphragm often overtake a person during classes in the gym. The reason for this is excessive exercise. Sudden cramping can also occur due to insufficient warm-up before training.
A characteristic symptom of spasm of the diaphragm due to overstrain is a tingling sensation in the right side. Painful sensations arise due to a sharp increase in blood supply to the liver. This organ increases in size and begins to put pressure on the diaphragm. Because of this, her spasm occurs.
If spasms appeared during sports, then you should immediately reduce the intensity of the load. However, you can not abruptly stop the exercise, it can only worsen the situation. You can make several inclinations, this will help to relax the diaphragmatic muscle a little.
Nerve irritation
Often spasms are triggered by irritation of the phrenic nerve. In this case, a person develops hiccups and shortness of breath. This nerve is involved in the respiratory movements of the diaphragm and any effect on it causes spastic manifestations.
Nerve irritation can be caused by the following reasons:
- overeating;
- deep breath while eating;
- malignant and benign tumors in the chest;
- autoimmune pathologies;
- conditions after operations on the esophagus and diaphragm;
- osteochondrosis;
- intoxication of the body against the background of infection;
- abuse of spicy foods and hot spices.
If this condition is provoked by errors in nutrition, then after normalization of the diet, the diaphragm spasms completely disappear. Treatment is necessary only in cases where nerve irritation has arisen for pathological reasons. It is necessary to conduct therapy for the underlying disease. After this, breathing will be restored and spasms will disappear.
Hernia
The diaphragm has an esophageal opening. In some cases, part of the stomach may protrude through it. Doctors call this pathology a hernia. Its main reason is muscle weakness due to age-related changes, as well as after various injuries and operations.
Hernia often leads to diaphragmatic spasms. This disease can be accompanied by pain, belching, heartburn, difficulty swallowing, but an asymptomatic course is often noted.
To get rid of cramps, you need to treat the underlying pathology. In mild cases, doctors recommend dynamic observation. The patient must undergo regular examinations and all necessary examinations, as well as follow a diet and avoid heavy physical exertion. If there is a danger of infringement of the hernia, then the patient is shown surgery. After surgery, spastic phenomena in the diaphragm cease.
Flutter (myoclonus) diaphragm
This is a very rare disease that doctors also call diaphragm flutter. Currently, medicine does not know the causes of this pathology.
With this ailment, the patient experiences very frequent involuntary contractions of the diaphragm. A person feels them as a flutter in the chest. Spasms can reach 100 contractions per minute. The attack lasts from several minutes to several hours and is accompanied by shortness of breath. If you look at the patient’s epigastric region, you can see twitching of muscles under the skin.
Since the etiology of this disease is unclear, effective treatments have not yet been developed. Antihistamines can help reduce the frequency of seizures. However, they can be taken only as directed by a doctor.
How to relieve an attack
Consider ways to relieve spasms of the diaphragm. The following methods will help get rid of discomfort:
- You can try to put pressure on the muscles around the spasm. This will help to somewhat relax the diaphragm.
- During muscle spasms, it is recommended to lie on your back and raise your arms up. In this position, you should remain until the stop of contractions of the diaphragm.
- You can put a heating pad with cool water on the diaphragmatic area.
- If the attack is accompanied by hiccups, it is useful to gulp a glass of cool water.
There are medical methods for stopping spasms. Doctors prescribe anticonvulsants and sedatives in such cases. However, such drugs are strictly prescription, and they can not be taken on their own.
Diagnostics
If sudden contractions of the diaphragm occur in isolated cases, then this does not require special diagnosis and treatment. Most likely, spasms are provoked by random causes and can be eliminated at home.
If spastic phenomena are repeated regularly and significantly affect the quality of life, then you should visit a doctor. This can be a sign of various pathologies.
Very often, patients take pain in the stomach and esophagus for diaphragmatic cramps. For the purpose of differential diagnosis, doctors prescribe the following examinations:
- MRI and CT scan of the diaphragm;
- chest x-ray;
- blood tests (clinical and biochemistry);
- esophagomanometry (study of peristalsis of the esophagus).
Conclusion
Diaphragmatic cramps in themselves are not dangerous. The attack usually does not last long and does not harm the patient. However, if cramping is repeated very often, then, most likely, they are associated with pathology. In this case, you need to visit a doctor and undergo a course of treatment. Inadvertent diaphragm contractions disappear only after eliminating their cause.