Working To End the No-Burp Life
Raising awareness about an ignored condition to help people who are suffering in silence
Retrograde Cricopharyngeus Dysfunction (R-CPD) also commonly known as No Burp Syndrome is a medical condition that affects the proper functioning of the upper esophagus.
Every good story needs a villain…
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The culprit of the R-CPD story is the cricopharyngeus (CP) muscle which is also sometimes called the upper esophageal sphincter or UES. This forms the valve at the top of our food pipe (esophagus).
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The cricopharyngeus (CP) muscle is supposed to relax to let the upper esophageal valve open to allow for 2-way traffic between our throats and esophagus. This way, food can go down when we swallow and burping can happen when the air pressure from below gets too high!
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In people with RCPD, the CP muscle cannot relax or open to vent air. What happens next is not pleasant. The build up of gas and pressure stretches the food pipe and stomach which leads to bloating and even awkward gurgling noises in the neck which is the air trying to get out!
“Once upon a time, there was a frog…that lived in my throat.”
“And this frog would croak at all the wrong times and all the wrong places.”
