Anyone else get painful cramps/muscle spasms in front of neck/throat?

I've tried searching for this across the net for awhile now, and I havent had much luck finding too much information about it.

So here's basically what happens. If I am swallowing a piece of food or yawn at some awkward angle, the muscles in the back of my mouth/top front of neck seem to spasm or cramp up. Generally the upper left or right side of my neck. This makes swallowing somewhat painful in that area, and spitting also seems to cause some pain. The pain can last anywhere from a few minutes, to a few hours and also a bit of soreness lasts up to a day afterwards.

The location on the neck is circled in red in this picture. That's not me in the picture btw.



After reading a few threads on other boards, it seems like there's not really much to do about this, since it's really only diagnosed as a somewhat random muscle spasm.

Has anyone else on ATS experienced something like this?

i dont know an exact cause but i get muscle spasms further down on my jaw line, like the muscle wants to jump over to the front of my jawbone, in either case adding more potassium to my diet helped. so eat bananas! aside from that idk, if anyone else knows about this it would be nice as even with potassium it still hits me on occasion and its no fun.

originally posted by: theinsolentfish
i dont know an exact cause but i get muscle spasms further down on my jaw line, like the muscle wants to jump over to the front of my jawbone, in either case adding more potassium to my diet helped. so eat bananas! aside from that idk, if anyone else knows about this it would be nice as even with potassium it still hits me on occasion and its no fun.

I can actually feel the small lump of muscle kind of popping out in the area, especially when I tilt my head down.

I've heard about adding potassium to. I think I may give that a shot and wait and see what happens over the next few months. That and also stretching mouth muscles and trying to relieve stress are the top 3 things that I've read that may be the cause of this.

Im not sure if this means anything, but I used to get pretty hardcore charlie horse cramps in my calf area. Those however have gone away atleast over a year or 2 ago. Once those ended, I started getting these mouth/neck cramps.

Yes I get it to! I also get a weird thing like this behind my eye. I've noticed it happens when I'm on a long trip, which makes me think it could possibly be from poor circulation?

Also, I haven't figured out how yet, but I'm almost certain that Obama, Isis, Ebola, and global warming have something to do with it.

I get that type of cramp, but only if i try to bite over something big, like a burger or something.

It completely lock my muscles and my jaw, and can last for a minute or two before releasing, and after it's sore for a day or so.

That area also contains lymph nodes.

If the jaw action is uneven you may end up putting unusual pressure on one that can cause this sort of pain.

These lymph nodes can also become infected usually with another cause such as a gum or tooth infection that you may not even be aware of.

There are several causes of muscle spasm that affect the jaw muscles in much the same way as you may get leg cramps.

MJ is one treatment that assists in all types of muscle cramps and acts very quickly.

Whether it be muscle spasm or lymph node problems, once they are hurt, they do take a day or two to calm down.

Just because you think it is a muscle, does not mean it is. It is helpful to know the difference between muscle pain and lymph node pain.

See you doctor if pain persists assuming you can find one that knows what they are doing. In my country, finding one that speaks the language is helpful as well.

P

I take that stuff for pain but the cramps from a squished backbone don't pay much attention to it.....
Mine come mostly in my rib cage....

a reply to: buni11687

Have your thyroid and Vitamin D levels checked.

My wife had a similar issue also her hands and feet would cramp. Causing her hands to look almost like claws.

They put her on 5000 units of Vitamin D and upped her synthroid meds. So far it seems to be working

I had that and ignored it for 15 years until it got critical where the cramp/pain didn't go away for several days. Mine turned out to be a stone in my submandibular saliva gland that grew so large it totally blocked the duct under my tongue and it took some major surgery to remove that gland due to the damage done with adhesions to the surrounding tissue. Now I still get the cramp very occasionally if I yawn but it only lasts a minute or so and that's a reminder of the surgery.

Pain is a warning that something's not quite right and letting it go on for too long leads to worse outcomes that could have been avoided if addressed early.

An x-ray is simple and non-invasive.

a reply to: buni11687

You need magnesium potassium calcium

Don't overdo calcium, so common in western culture to overdo calcium

Alternately you have infection, in which case you need way better nutrition and perhaps iodine and colloidal silver

DO NOT overdo iodine and colloidal

a reply to: theinsolentfish

You need get that checked with a doctor but a possibility is magnesium deficiency which is becoming widespread because processed foods are becoming void of natural nutrients. Note that magnesium defiency can also lead to potassium deficiency because the body needs magnesium to break down foods into potassium. I use magnesium forte daily with a banana and symptons I were getting eased after a week.

A full outline of magnesium deficiency was beautifully presented in a recent article by Dr. Sidney Baker. “Magnesium deficiency can affect virtually every organ system of the body. With regard to skeletal muscle, one may experience twitches, cramps, muscle tension, muscle soreness, including back aches, neck pain, tension headaches and jaw joint (or TMJ) dysfunction. Also, one may experience chest tightness or a peculiar sensation that he can’t take a deep breath. Sometimes a person may sigh a lot.”
“Symptoms involving impaired contraction of smooth muscles include constipation; urinary spasms; menstrual cramps; difficulty swallowing or a lump in the throat-especially provoked by eating sugar; photophobia, especially difficulty adjusting to oncoming bright headlights in the absence of eye disease; and loud noise sensitivity from stapedius muscle tension in the ear.”

link

Yes! I get that too when I yawn sometimes, and I can feel the muscle like it got pulled out of place. Hurts so bad for a while... Sometimes if I tilt my head forward fast enough I can stop it, but not ask the time.

Also, as far as potassium goes, I can't eat bananas. They give me terrible stomach pain.

a reply to: buni11687

I've had something similar that the doc called esophogeal spasms, and said it was related to my asthma. After someone mentioned a thyroid and/or potassium connection, it occurred to me that I haven't had an episode since I started taking a thyroid supplement with potassium iodide. Mineral deficiencies can cause muscle spasms. Maybe check out some good mineral supplements, like Calm Forte, or even EmergenC.

I wish I could be more help. It's awful. Mine would hit in the back of the throat and I wouldn't be able to breathe. Good luck.

a reply to: Boadicea

You should have blood work done to determine any mineral deficiencies that could be causing it.

I found this for you:

Magnesium
Magnesium plays important roles in many systems of your body, and you need a certain intake each day to maintain the necessary levels. On average, adult males require between 400 mg and 420 mg daily, and women require between 310 mg and 320 mg. Your needs may vary depending on health, pregnancy or lactation.

If you have low magnesium intake over a long period of time, this can result in a deficiency, causing symptoms such as fatigue and weakness. In more serious cases, you could begin to feel tingling sensations or have muscle spasms in locations such as your neck. You could also experience a change in your heart rhythm, spasms in your heart or seizures.

www.livestrong.com...

Dunno about spasms but ..

our entire church got hit with SUPER MASSIVE bad flu and flu like symptoms starting in the throat .. mine lasted 2 full weeks NOTHING over the counter helped ...ZERO.. and caused our Assc. Pastor to go into pneumonia.

Do you have bruxism( causes you to grind your teeth)? Also cramps underneath your chin are a possible sign of a heart attack so perhaps something to get checked out.

I'm not a Doctor or such, but I'd advise a blood pressure test and check up for Angina, if that doesn't turn up anything I'm at a loss as to anything that may help apart from some magnesium supplements, they can help some people suffering from muscle cramps.

a reply to: buni11687

You've circled the lymph nodes. They are the body's drainage system.
We have on both sides of the throat, under both arms and both sides of the groin.

Search your issues within the lymph system.

Hope this info helps.. .MS

a reply to: buni11687
check lymph nodes, thyroid ,Vitamin D and Iodine levels