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Something in my neck is popping out of place
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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@jbrew91
ENT appointment script:
“Something in my upper neck/right side of my throat seems to sublux or shift out of place every few months. I usually press gently on the area and feel a small ‘click’ and it goes back. But this time it has been stuck for three days and I can’t relocate it. It’s uncomfortable to swallow but not painful. I think it may be related to the hyoid bone or the thyroid cartilage. Can you evaluate the hyoid, the thyrohyoid membrane, and the thyroid cartilage horns?”
“I want to rule out hyoid subluxation, superior thyroid cornu syndrome, or an elongated styloid process.”
“Can you palpate the hyoid and possibly do a small flexible endoscopy to look at movement when I swallow?”
(AI scripted this -says see an ENT.)
🧘 What she should not say
“Something is popping out of my throat.”
→ ENTs hear this as anxiety or “globus.”
“This has been happening for years and I finally came in.”
→ They may downplay it.
“This is embarrassing but I can push something back into place.”
→ They may think muscular rather than structural.
🩺 What doctors usually miss
Most physicians:
• don’t palpate the hyoid
• don’t know it can sublux
• don’t consider the thyroid cartilage horns
• assume it’s “in your head”
But ENTs who specialize in neck biomechanics, TMJ specialists, and some chiropractors are familiar with it.
I suggest going to Mayo or good teaching hospital to get a good resolution to this overlooked medical condition.
Teaching hospitals have:
• laryngologists
• swallowing specialists
• access to dynamic imaging
• doctors familiar with unusual cartilage anomalies
• more time for complex cases
And Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Duke — all the major academic centers — have ENTs who actually know about these tiny throat mechanics.
Most local ENTs only look for:
• reflux
• infection
• cancer
• tonsils
• sinus issues
This problem falls outside their routine.