I occasionally suffer from trapped wind in my upper digestive system - I experience this as a dull ache behind and slightly to my right of my Sternum - the pain grows in intensity until it feels like I have been stuck through with a spike (I mean, what I imagine that might feel like) - it’s an intense, thick pain that feels like it goes right though me from front to back.
Belching always relieves the symptoms but is usually very hard to do - when this happens, it often seems nearly impossible to expel a burp.
Drinking soda always helps to release the gas. Sometimes water does the trick, if I drink about half a pint of it.
So my question is this: The amount of gas that I eventually expel as a burp seems tiny - certainly less than the volume of liquid I drink to displace or release it, so, given that it’s not a simple matter of volume vs space available, why does it hurt so damn much?
Might there be an associated muscle spasm going on? I once had a really bad pain in my chest that eventually subsided but still left a localised soreness for at least a week. My GP arranged a treadmill heart test at the local hospital, who found nothing wrong and suggested a muscle spasm (in my case from gastric reflux, eventually tracked down to a hiatus hernia).
It might be worth asking a professional rather than “Dr Internet”, just to make sure there’s nothing else going on.
All points to a hiatus hernia. Your stomach has pushed into the Oesophagus and chest cavity through the diaphragm. Very small amounts of trapped gas cause this pain. Easy diagnosis in hospital using a camera through the mouth. Slight discomfort but out patient.
Just realised all 3 responses are from England. If we all have hiatus hernia it mustbe something in the water…lol
Inability to burp is a thing. My kids and I both have it- it’s some defect with the esophageal sphincter and often the only way to release pent up gas is to induce a burp by sticking a finger in my throat. Doesn’t cause vomiting, just a release of gas.
My kids and I each found this solution independently, and my daughter found an article (and a sub reddit!) about it. Who knew!
I have a hiatal hernia and had these same pains years ago. I stopped getting them when I gave up soda. I guess gas from the soda built up in the herniated area and the pressure from it was extremely painful - sometimes the referred pain from it gave me the illusion that my kidney area was aching.
However, it all went away after I stopped drinking soda.
Inability to eructate Is a thing in certain species, as well. Horses, for example, cannot eructate and cannot vomit either, leading to some cases of colic.
My gf had a thirty-something year old horse that had some dental/gastric issues during his last year of life. The horse vet sold us a special hose, and when he had problems I (why is it always me?) had to pass the tube into a nostril and down to his stomach, after which he’d be all good until the next occurrence.
I agree with others that you should get it checked out.
If all is clear, you can get anti-gas medication that should help without the need to belch.
It hurts a lot (if it isn’t a hernia), because the enteric nerve system that governs the GI is large and can produce pain. It’s called the enteric nervous system. Among other cool facts about it, it can operate independently of the brain and spinal cord, it has more neurons than the spinal cord, and it produces serotonin and dopamine.
No answer for you, but I have the same problem occasionally. Once I had it so bad that I couldn’t sleep, and at 2AM I got up, went to the store, and got syrup of ipecac (which tells you how long ago it was)
I eventually went to a gastroenterologist, and he diagnosed me with gerd. He gave me a prescription for Nexium, and the problem with burping got a lot better. I still will occasionally have painful gas, but never as bad or for as long as before.
This problem led to a favorite memory: I was grocery shopping, and let out a really loud burp. There was a kid halfway down the aisle who gave me a look that was somewhere between “I didn’t know adults made that kind of noise” and “You are my hero”