Stuck stomach often has no medical significance. It is the feeling that something is wrong in the stomach and something has got stuck in the stomach. It can be food or something else. Digestive tract begins from your mouth and ends with rectum. Any obstruction or blockage in the digestive tract can cause multiple problems. And the tract can be affected by various factors and medical conditions. Movement of food in the stomach and colon should be normal and any blockage in the tract can cause reduced movement and sometimes the food gets backed up giving rise to certain medical conditions like stuck stomach.
Many people feel and perceive “stuck stomach” though there is no physical obstruction inside the stomach. In some cases real obstruction in the movement of food is present.
Causes Of Stuck Stomach :
1. Hiatus Hernia – Esophagus is thin tubing that runs from your throat and crosses the chest region, ending in the upper part of the stomach. Diaphragm is the organ that separates the abdominal cavity from the chest and esophagus makes a small opening into the diaphragm before entering the stomach. This opening is fixed with sphincter muscles to regulate flow of food and fluids from the throat into the stomach. Actually these muscles opens when something is to be sent inside the stomach and remains closed other times.
But sometimes due to back pressure and weakening of muscles it gets opened through which semi-digested food particles along with enzymes enters the throat cavity causing heartburn and regurgitation. When this process happens repeatedly it can lead to pushing up of some fatty tissue of the stomach into the diaphragm and this condition is known as hiatal hernia. A small portion of the stomach gets squeezed into the diaphragm and remains there for some time after which it gets finally released and sent into the abdominal cavity. Any injury in the diaphragm and sphincter muscle and forced (repeated) coughing can cause hiatal hernia.