Find out what a gastroenterologist says about how long or short an esophageal spasm might last.
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You may be wondering for how long or for how brief an esophageal spasm may be.
They can be quite painful, but at other times the pain can be at a more moderate level.
The “Esophageal Spasm”
“‘Esophageal spasm’ is a lay term,” begins Steven Fleisher, MD, a gastroenterologist in Rosedale, Maryland, with 20+ years of experience.
“It implies some form of discomfort, or clinical symptom such as difficulty swallowing associated with or purportedly due to abnormal function of the esophagus with intense or abnormal contraction or ‘spasm.’”
Dr. Fleisher says that an esophageal motility study is the “best test of esophageal dysfunction supporting evidence of increased pressure in the esophagus and hence ‘spasm.’”
An esophageal motility study measures how well the esophagus moves food to the stomach using pressure sensors during swallowing.
Duration of Spasms
“In these studies, the duration of contractions or ‘spasms’ is important,” says Dr. Fleisher.
“For example, to meet the criteria for the entity ‘diffuse esophageal spasm,’ one is required to have contractions that last for greater than six seconds, are repetitive, and do not often progress down the esophagus in the normal way.
“Other important criteria include increased pressure in the esophagus.”
He continues: “Esophageal spasms can vary in duration. Clinically important contractions need to persist for more than six seconds.”
If pain in the esophageal area lasts only a second to a few seconds, it could be a spasm of a skeletal muscle.
When that happens, ask yourself if you did an upper body workout within the past few days.
As far as getting the correct diagnosis, Dr. Fleisher explains that an esophageal spasm is “often a clinical diagnosis, and a diagnosis of exclusion.
Endoscopy is a poor test for evaluation. X-ray study such as a barium swallow will provide better physiological information suggesting disordered contraction but are poor at associating symptoms with the observed abnormality.”
Dr. Fleisher was named a 2015-2018 “Top Doc” by Baltimore Magazine for gastroenterology.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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