Question
I have esophageal pain swallowing food or drink,and pain arises in upper right chest ribs just beneath the clavicle,and also the back rib just beneath the shoulder capsule.I first got this sensation from eating ice cream,in which a large cold piece went down prematurly.At that time I also had excruciating pain across the bridge of the nose.Can you explain the relationship of esophagus,rib and bridge of nose from hard swallowing or cold Ice cream
  
                           Thank you
                                   robert

Answer
Hi, Robert,

It's interesting:  the muscles of the neck and throat go down to the upper ribs and up behind the nose, affecting the bones of the face (including the sinuses).

Sounds like you have some neck muscles in over-contraction.  Swallowing would intensify the contraction further, causing pain in the upper ribs.

I had a client who described a sensation as if her face were a mask.  Her throat muscles were in heightened contraction.  As soon as she learned to relax those muscles (during a somatics session with me), the "mask" sensation disappeared and her sinuses began to drain.

As I said, interesting.

Lawrence Gold