All of the above conditions are primarily in the realm of Ear, Nose, and Throat specialists, and in some cases gastroenterologists (specialists in the digestive tract including the stomach and the tubes which lead into and out of it).
But what do you do if these specialists and your physician cannot find the cause? In our experience, the answer is almost always a dysfunction or injury to muscles in the throat. These have long names like the superior pharyngeal constrictor (which surrounds the back of the throat and has connections to the palate and lower jaw) and the digastric muscle (which connects the skull to the lower jaw at the chin with connections at a bone in the throat called the hyoid bone).
In cases where these and other muscles are injured or dysfunctional, any of the symptoms listed above can result. When this is the cause, a diagnosis cannot be made with MRI’s, bacterial cultures, blood tests, endoscopy, or any of the usual tests which are required to rule out tumors, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), strep infections and the like.
The bottom line is that once your physicians rule out conditions such as those we just mentioned, if symptoms persist, there is a 90% probability that they will be gone when we discharge you from treatment.
“It’s hard to remember just how terrible it was to have it feel like there was a bone sticking in my throat most of the time. And it was also really hard to swallow. What a relief!” - Helen S.
“I came here from Australia after many ear, nose, and throat specialists and other doctors could not relieve the horrible pain for many years. I’ve only been here a short time and cannot believe that the pain and problems swallowing are actually gone. This is especially amazing because no one else could find anything wrong and Dr. Klemons found the cause at the initial examination.
It was really worth the gamble coming here from Australia.” - Simon D. (Australia)
"Before I came here my main problems were a feeling that a bone was sticking in my throat and terrible pain in most of my teeth. I could hardly speak or walk because the pain was so bad it hindered y social and active life. Most of the eight doctors I saw before another pain specialist referred me here looked at me like I had two heads. I have my life back and can go to medical school now that I came here and the pain is really gone." - James G.
