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Something in my neck is popping out of place

Posted by devonmwhite @devonmwhite, Sep 13, 2022

Hello all,

Over the past, i’d say 4 years i’ve had a very odd thing happen in my neck and it happens when I swallow or move my neck (no specific way). It doesn’t happen often, it could be 3 times a week or once in 3 months. Basically there is something that feels like a tube popping out of place and i have to use my hand to push it back in place. It’s like something is bending. It sounds really odd but it’s really really painful and when it happens a panic feels my body and i have to push it back in right away. It happens just under my left jaw and a bit over from my adam’s apple, sort of where you would check your pulse. I can’t find anything on the internet about this and haven’t decided to go to the doctor because it’s something that happens randomly.

If anyone knows anything on this, that would be great!!

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rubybear | @rubybear | Jun 3 7:21pm

This just happened to me for the first time today (25f). Was sitting outside when I yawned and immediately could tell something was wrong. Super tight under my chin on the left side with pain radiating up to my ear. I literally thought one of my lymph nodes exploded. I couldn't talk and it hurt super bad to swallow. Started panicking and forced a swallow which hurt like crazy but felt something literally "pop" back into place. It's a bit sore now still about an hour later but I'm so incredibly terrified it'll happen again one day. If anyone has any answers as to what this is and how to prevent it from happening please share!

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emilymw | @emilymw | Jun 4 2:24am
In reply to @rubybear "This just happened to me for the first time today (25f). Was sitting outside when I..." + (show)
Profile picture for rubybear @rubybear

This just happened to me for the first time today (25f). Was sitting outside when I yawned and immediately could tell something was wrong. Super tight under my chin on the left side with pain radiating up to my ear. I literally thought one of my lymph nodes exploded. I couldn't talk and it hurt super bad to swallow. Started panicking and forced a swallow which hurt like crazy but felt something literally "pop" back into place. It's a bit sore now still about an hour later but I'm so incredibly terrified it'll happen again one day. If anyone has any answers as to what this is and how to prevent it from happening please share!

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Hi there! I am a 24F and this has happened to me for as long as I can remember. This just happened to me and for the first time ever I decided to research it. I stumbled across this thread and read every single story and suggestion. First of all, when this happens, what I have always done was like what others had said, press firmly on the side that it has popped out of place and forced it back into place. It hurts, but is worth it to end the pain. Today’s instance happened just like what everyone else said as well. I am laying down in bed and I turned and yawned it it popped out. So strange!
Anyways, I think the most plausible answer someone mentions was the ossification of cartilage in your throat. They explained it as “the cartilage in your throat moves but the ossified part doesn't, causing it to pop out of place”.
The other answer that seemed plausible to me was a muscle spasm in the Longus Colli. This just doesn’t feel like a spasm, more like something is completely out of place so that’s why I am leaning more towards ossification! Going to talk to my colleagues & physician friends about this & will report back if they know anything.

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lel125 | @lel125 | Aug 7 2:40pm
In reply to @oe10004 "THIS HAPPENS TO ME. I’ve never met anyone with this same issue and I’ve never met..." + (show)
Profile picture for oe10004 @oe10004

THIS HAPPENS TO ME. I’ve never met anyone with this same issue and I’ve never met a doctor or other person that knows what this couldn’t be. I’ve never seen anything on the internet either. This is the most hopeful thing I’ve ever found…just knowing other people go through this makes me feel so less alone.

During the day if I bend my neck weird (haven’t figured out a specific position that makes this happen), it usually feels “shallow” enough and I have a specific hand pushing/sweeping motion I can do to get it back in place. It literally feels like it clicks back but doesn’t make an audible sound. When I wake up in the middle of the night (which is rare but just happened a few minutes ago), it usually feels SO deeply dislocated it makes me anxious and I don’t know what to do to get it back into place. I almost started to cry but the flaring of muscles that happen when you start to cry was SO uncomfortable that I stopped. Wildly enough when I did this, whatever it was went back into place! I was shocked. Not sure if this is a helpful trick or if it was bc I was praying for a miracle at 3am. But it worked!

For reference, this NEVER impairs my swallowing or breathing. Like it’s not inside my throat. But it is uncomfortable to swallow (which is how I know it’s out of proper place when it happens). Doesn’t seem to affect me besides this discomfort which isn’t necessarily “painful” but definitely not something I’d want to just leave alone and see if it goes back to place.

Best description of location I could give is it feels like it’s in the region of suprahyoid muscles. Something that should be superficial but when displaced goes deeper into the neck. Feels like pressure makes it worse and pulling at my neck (almost causing suction) can sometimes help get it back into place. Really hoping just to KNOW what this is, to understand it better.

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Hi there still not alone as it happens to me and my my
mum. It happened to her years and years ago and she told me just in case it ever happened to me… She went to the docs at the time I’m sure so we’re going back lots of years now as she’s 88. They just told her it was a cartilage going out and showed her how to put back in. Extend the neck and feel where to push back. It’s not happened as often with her as it has me. Yesterday in fact… Funnily enough I looked it up today on chat gpt and it came up with laryngeal cartilage subluxation. It says about the popping out, putting back in, the pain swallowing until it goes in and how it can still be painful after and can happen with movement of neck etc… It also says it’s rare but it must be a genetic thing then in my case… My mum has dementia advanced and I’ve once over the 10 years she’s had it had to put it back in for her also.

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superthunder866 | @superthunder866 | Sep 12 5:52am
In reply to @imaginarypikachu "Adding to the community of *this happens to me too*. For me, it isn't painful and..." + (show)
Profile picture for imaginarypikachu @imaginarypikachu

Adding to the community of *this happens to me too*. For me, it isn't painful and I can still talk. I don't panic but that's probably due to it not being so painful for me. I, like OP, feel it right above my adam's apple and to the edge a bit, near the pulse spot. I can poke around in there and usually get it back into place. Sometimes it takes longer than usual.

I feel like we should start listing our other weird undiagnosed symptoms, in case we have additional overlap. Could help people, who knows. To preface, I'm getting checked for hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome.
So without making this too long:
- hypermobility in many joints (double jointed)
- chronic fatigue
- pain in knees, hips, lower back, feet
- post nasal drip (pretty much had it for like 7 years now)
- depression, anxiety, adhd
- dizzy when standing after sitting, black tunnel vision when standing quickly after sleeping
- extra stretchy skin
- For a short period of time when I was 16 (maybe a few months at most), I had excruciating headaches that sent shooting pain right down my neck into my shoulder.
- I've always gotten random shocks in my neck that are very short and quick but extremely painful, like a quick electric zap.

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You have literally the exact same Symptoms as me. Right down to the electric zaps pain that happened when I was younger too. Did your results come back?

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jojob | @jojob | 1 day ago
In reply to @kenna23 "I have this happen to me too. I've found it usually occurs if I yawn with..." + (show)
Profile picture for kenna23 @kenna23

I have this happen to me too. I've found it usually occurs if I yawn with my head turned to the left or sometimes when swollowing, otherwise sometimes randomly. It comes as a severe pain in my neck that usually radiates up to just under my jawbone. I actually believed it was something with my jaw for the longest time until I figured out that something in my neck had popped out of place. I realized I could push with two fingers on this ring-type-thing to pop it back into place and the pain stops immediately. I actually can't talk or swallow when the pain is there because it's so bad. When I do pop it back in, there is an audible 'pop' that happens. My significant other can hear it when I pop it back into place.

The only thing I can think of this stemming from is a car crash where I was T-Boned. The doctor checked me out and said I was fine with a minor case of whiplash, but I wonder if that jerk/bend of my neck could have caused it?

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Has anyone got an answer for this yet? This is exactly what's been happening to me for a decade and I can't get a Dr to understand. I've had imaging and a camera down my throat for it but it's not while it's happening.
If I am quick enough I can click whatever is displacing back with no more trouble than it being uncomfortable to do so, but if I'm not quick, it's displaced/dislocated (that's how it feels at least) and then I can't tilt my head upwards (it literally isn't possible, it feels as though something is pulled to it's maximum and can't go further) or swallow. I have to go chin to cheat and try and massage the left of the throat until it goes back of its own accord.
I get really panicky or won't go back, once or was nearly two hours.

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fifiday | @fifiday | 12 hours ago
In reply to @atyppy "Are you familiar with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS)? Summarizing isn’t my strong suit but it’s a..." + (show)
Profile picture for atyppy @atyppy

Are you familiar with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS)? Summarizing isn’t my strong suit but it’s a joint/muscular connectivity disorder. One of the symptoms is dislocations, among a list of others. There’s quite a few subtypes and it doesn’t seem to be well known by doctors. Might be worth looking into

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@atyppy I have just been told I have EDS and I think that is what’s causing this too! I’ve had so many tests and scans and ENT don’t know what it is. It’s painful and scary

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marcoye939 | @marcoye939 | 11 hours ago

That sounds terrifying and, frankly, dangerous. Please stop trying to push it back in yourself and go to the doctor ASAP. The fact that it feels like a tube and you have to use force suggests something serious, possibly involving the thyroid cartilage or a misplaced tendon. The randomness is why you need a professional to try and replicate the movement.

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