Diaphragm spasm usually frightens patients. Experiencing this unpleasant sensation, people easily panic. Suddenly, the person squeezes the chest and there is a feeling of lack of air. Most often, this condition does not pose a major he alth risk. But in some cases, involuntary contractions of the diaphragmatic muscle can be a sign of pathology. Why do spasms occur? And how to relax the diaphragm? We will consider these issues in the article.
What is this
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, 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 diaphragmatic spasm? There is an involuntary contraction of this muscle, not associated withbreath. If a spasm occurs on inspiration, then it becomes difficult for a person to take air into the lungs. If the contraction occurs during exhalation, then the patient cannot release carbon dioxide from the lungs. Spasms can be quite painful, or they may not cause much discomfort.
Sometimes patients describe their sensations as "fluttering" in the chest. At the same time, they have frequent, but very short spasms. The person physically feels small twitches of the diaphragmatic muscle.
Spasms usually last for a very short time. They suddenly appear, and then just as suddenly stop.
Symptomatics
Symptoms and causes of diaphragmatic spasm can vary. The manifestations of this disorder largely depend on what exactly caused the sudden muscle cramp. Spasms may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
- difficulty inhaling or exhaling;
- chest tenderness radiating to the abdomen or back;
- nausea and vomiting;
- hiccup;
- cough;
- difficulty swallowing water and food;
- short of breath.
These manifestations can have varying degrees of intensity. How severe chest discomfort is depends on the cause of the spasms.
Reasons
Why does the diaphragmatic muscle suddenly contract? Usually this condition is preceded by the impact of various provoking factors. Doctors identify the following causes of diaphragm spasm:
- rough mechanical impact on the chest area(for example, a bruise or blow);
- heavy sports training;
- irritation of nerve endings;
- hernia.
There is also a rare disease - diaphragm flutter. It is with him that patients feel "flutter" in the chest.
Next, we will look at the symptoms of diaphragmatic spasm and treatment depending on the cause of this condition.
Strike
Most often, spasm occurs with bruises. This usually happens when a person receives a blow to the solar plexus area. The risk of such damage is especially high in athletes involved in boxing, martial arts, rugby. Less often, involuntary contraction of the diaphragm occurs when an unsuccessful fall on the chest or stomach.
When hit in the area of the solar plexus, a person experiences a sharp pain. For some time he cannot inhale or exhale due to severe spasm of the diaphragm. The patient may even lose consciousness due to lack of oxygen.
If the bruise was not strong, then very soon breathing is restored, and the person's he alth returns to normal. However, blows to the solar plexus often have serious consequences. Traumatization of this area can lead to rupture of the muscle, as well as provoke the appearance of diaphragmatic hernia 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 relieve spasm of the diaphragm after a bruise? To restore breathing, a person needs to stand up, a littleleaning your body forward, and lean your hands on the table. If the blow was not too strong, then the spasm will soon pass.
If a person has lost consciousness after a blow, then he should be laid on his side and an indirect heart massage should be performed. Then you need to urgently call a doctor.
You should also seek medical help in cases where after a blow the pain does not disappear for a long time and at the same time there is nausea, vomiting, pain in the heart, involuntary defecation. These symptoms may indicate a serious injury that should only be treated by a doctor.
Physical overexertion
Spasms of the diaphragm often overtake a person while exercising in the gym. The reason for this is excessive physical activity. Also, a sudden spasm can occur due to insufficient warm-up before training.
A characteristic symptom of diaphragmatic spasm due to overexertion is tingling in the right side. Painful sensations arise due to a sharp increase in the blood supply to the liver. This organ increases in size and begins to put pressure on the diaphragm. This causes her to spasm.
If spasms appear during sports activities, then you should immediately reduce the intensity of the load. However, you can not abruptly stop the exercises, this can only worsen the situation. You can do a few bends, this will help relax the diaphragm muscle a little.
Nerve irritation
Often spasms are provoked by irritation of the phrenic nerve. In this case, a person has hiccups anddyspnea. This nerve is involved in the respiratory movements of the diaphragm and any impact on it causes spastic manifestations.
Nerve irritation can be caused by:
- 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 the normalization of the diet, the spasms of the diaphragm completely disappear in the patient. Treatment is necessary only in cases where nerve irritation has arisen for pathological reasons. It is necessary to treat the underlying disease. After that, 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 cause 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 often there is an asymptomatic course.
To get rid of spasms, you need to treatunderlying pathology. In mild cases, doctors recommend dynamic monitoring. The patient must undergo regular examinations and all necessary examinations, as well as diet and avoid heavy physical exertion. If there is a danger of infringement of the hernia, then the patient is shown an operation. After surgery, spasms in the diaphragm stop.
Flutter (myoclonus) diaphragm
This is a very rare disorder that doctors also refer to as diaphragmatic flutter. At present, the causes of this pathology are unknown to medicine.
With this ailment, the patient experiences very frequent involuntary contractions of the diaphragm. A person feels them as fluttering in the chest. The frequency of 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 epigastric region of the patient, you can notice the twitching of the muscles under the skin.
Because the etiology of this disease is unclear, effective treatments have not yet been developed. Antihistamines can help reduce the frequency of seizures. However, they should only be taken with a doctor's prescription.
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 relax the diaphragm a bit.
- During muscle spasm, it is recommended to lie on your back and raise your arms up. This position should be maintained until the end.diaphragm contractions.
- You can put a heating pad with cool water on the diaphragmatic area.
- If the attack is accompanied by hiccups, then it is useful to drink a glass of cool water in one gulp.
There are also medical ways to relieve spasms. Doctors prescribe anticonvulsant and sedative drugs in such cases. However, these drugs are strictly prescription drugs and should not be taken on their own.
Diagnosis
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 may be a sign of various pathologies.
Very often, patients mistake pain in the stomach and esophagus for diaphragmatic spasms. For the purpose of differential diagnosis, doctors prescribe the following examinations:
- MRI and CT of diaphragm area;
- chest x-ray;
- blood tests (clinical and biochemistry);
- esophagomanometry (study of esophageal peristalsis).
Conclusion
Diaphragmatic spasms are not dangerous in and of themselves. The attack usually does not last long and does not cause harm to the patient. However, if spasms are 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. Involuntary contractions of the diaphragm disappear only after their cause is eliminated.
