Sudden, Squeezing Pain in the Pit of Your Stomach? Gastric Spasm: Emergency First Aid and True Ways to Prevent Recurrence | Incheon Gastric Spasm

Suddenly, a gripping pain in your upper abdomen, so severe you can't breathe, accompanied by cold sweat – have you ever experienced that?

"Is it possibly enteritis, or just indigestion?"

It's confusing, and when severe, it can even be accompanied by back pain or headaches.

Most people try to endure it by taking digestive aids or painkillers like Tylenol, but if the root cause isn't addressed, gastric spasms will continue to recur.

When it's urgent, you might feel lost about which hospital to go to, and at night, you might wonder if you should head to the emergency room.

Hello, I am Dr. Choi Yeon-seung, Director of Incheon Baengnokdam Korean Medicine Clinic, who has spent 15 years helping countless patients with gastric spasms resolve their emergency situations and chronic pain.

If you read this article to the end today, you will clearly learn everything from emergency first aid for sudden gastric spasms, to good foods and healing methods that can break the frustrating cycle of recurrence.

Now, let's properly understand the causes of sudden pain.

Gastric Spasms: Why Exactly Does Your Stomach "Cramp Up"?

The easiest way to understand the pain of gastric spasms is to think of it as your "stomach cramping up." When we suddenly overexert ourselves, our calves cramp, and we feel a tight, twisted pain as the muscles seize up.

Gastric spasms are precisely the same phenomenon occurring in our stomach muscles.

The stomach muscles abnormally and excessively contract without your will, creating an intense, squeezing pain in the upper abdomen.

So, why do these normally calm stomach muscles suddenly rebel in this way?

The most common reason is that we ourselves have "overworked" our stomachs.

• Eating habits that are too fast: When insufficiently chewed food enters the stomach, the stomach must work several times harder than usual to digest it.
• Overeating: If food exceeding the stomach's capacity enters it, the stomach can reach its limit and trigger spasms.
• Irritating foods: Foods that are too spicy, greasy, or cold, as well as alcohol or coffee consumed on an empty stomach, directly irritate the stomach lining, causing a state of hyper-tension.

In particular, Korean medicine considers 'stress' to be one of the most significant causes of gastric spasms. This is because when the balance of the autonomic nervous system is disrupted by stress, the stomach muscles are prone to abnormal contractions and spasms.

Right Now! Emergency First Aid Guide for Gastric Spasms

More than theoretical explanations, you're probably most curious about how to stop this intense, squeezing pain in your upper abdomen right now.

When a sudden gastric spasm strikes, don't panic. Calmly follow these 3 emergency first aid steps in order.

1. 1단계: Curl up to relax your stomachFirst, loosen your belt and change into comfortable clothes to relieve any pressure on your abdomen. Then, lie on your side and pull your knees towards your chest, adopting the so-called 'fetal position,' which helps relax taut abdominal muscles.
2. 2단계: Warm and soothe with a hot packPlace a warm hot pack or towel between your upper abdomen and navel. The warm heat helps improve blood circulation, effectively loosening constricted stomach muscles. (However, be careful not to make it too hot.)
3. 3단계: Acupressure to clear blocked energy flowIn Korean medicine, gastric spasms are also viewed as 'blocked flow of Qi (氣).' You can clear this blocked flow by applying acupressure to the following representative acupoints.Apply firm pressure to these points for 10 seconds until you feel a dull ache, then release, and repeat.
   • Hapgok (LI4): The hollow area between the thumb and index finger.
   • Jok Samri (ST36): Approximately three finger-widths below the knee, on the outer side of the shin bone.

Most Frequently Asked Questions Q&A

Q. I'm in too much pain, can I at least drink water or plum tea?

A. No, when spasms are very severe, it's best to maintain an empty stomach for a while. Drinking anything can irritate the stomach further and induce vomiting. Once the spasms have subsided to some extent, it is safer to try sipping small amounts of lukewarm water or plum tea.

Q. Can I take just any medicine I have at home? (Antispasmodics vs. Digestive Aids vs. Tylenol)

A. Gastric spasms are different from simple indigestion or pain. Therefore, common digestive aids or painkillers like Tylenol may have minimal or no effect. Antispasmodics, which directly relax excessive contractions of the stomach muscles, are the most suitable, but medication should always be taken after consulting with a professional like a doctor or pharmacist.

The emergency first aid mentioned above is a way to put out an urgent fire.

But if fires keep recurring, shouldn't we address their root causes?

After a Gastric Spasm: How to Safely Return to Your Regular Diet

Once the severe pain has passed, the question "Can I eat something now?" begins to arise. Managing your diet after a gastric spasm requires a very cautious and stepwise approach, much like a recovery diet after a major illness.

This is because even a slightly wrong food choice can re-irritate an still-recovering stomach, potentially causing gastric spasms to recur.

Stage 1: Stabilization (Immediately after spasm ~ one day)

The goal of this stage is to give your stomach as much rest as possible and allow it to regain stability. Maintain an empty stomach until the pain completely subsides, and to prevent dehydration, it's good to sip warm water or barley tea in small amounts. Once you start feeling hungry, gently soothe your stomach with bland rice gruel (mi-eum) or thin white rice porridge.

Stage 2: Recovery (Day 2-3)

Now it's time to gradually restore your stomach's function. Begin your meals with bland white rice, accompanied by easily digestible soft foods like steamed eggs, steamed potatoes, or bananas. Absolutely no overeating at this stage; it's crucial to eat small portions, about half of your usual meal size, divided into several servings.

Stage 3: Return to Normal (Day 4 onwards)

Once your stomach feels somewhat comfortable, gradually expand your diet. Introduce good foods like well-cooked vegetables, tofu, and white fish one by one, observing how your stomach responds. However, to prevent recurrence, it is safe to continue avoiding stomach-irritating foods such as alcohol, coffee, greasy foods, and flour-based foods for at least 1-2 weeks.

Frequent Gastric Spasms: Could They Be an SOS Signal from Your Entire Body?

When you've had gastric spasms, have you ever experienced not just abdominal pain, but also accompanying pain in your back or head?

Many people dismiss this, thinking, "I must be in so much pain that it's spreading," but in fact, an important signal from our body is hidden here.

Our gut and brain are very closely connected by a "highway" called the 'Gut-Brain Axis.' When a 'crisis' like a severe spasm occurs in the stomach, the pain signals and inflammatory substances rapidly spread through this highway to the brain and the entire body. This is why gastric spasms can be accompanied by the following systemic symptoms:

• Back pain, stiff back, muscle aches: The contracted stomach muscles cause tension in the surrounding back muscles.
• Headaches, dizziness: Pain signals and toxins originating from the gut directly stimulate the cranial nerves.
• Facial flushing: Pain can disrupt the autonomic nervous system, sometimes causing abnormal dilation of blood vessels.

What's even more frustrating is that these 'functional' connection issues don't often show up in standard examinations like gastroscopy. This is why people are often told it's 'nervous' or 'psychosomatic' in origin.

Therefore, recurrent gastric spasms may not simply be a 'stomach-only' issue, but rather a signal of a 'systemic problem' involving your body's nervous and circulatory systems.

Recurrent Gastric Spasms: When It's Time to Examine Your Body's Structural Issues

Today, we've learned that sudden gastric spasms are not simply a matter to be dismissed as 'indigestion' or 'nervousness.'

From poor eating habits to stress, and pain spreading throughout the body, gastric spasms are a strong SOS signal that the functional balance of our body has been disrupted.

Especially if gastric spasms continue to recur even with the emergency first aid and lifestyle management we discussed today, this could be an early sign of 'Damjeok-byeong' (痰積病), where stomach muscles harden beyond temporary functional impairment.

If the opportunity arises soon, I will delve deeper into these structural issues and the after-effects of gastric spasms.

Never take recurring pain for granted. Listen to the SOS signals your body sends, and make an effort to address the root causes, going beyond merely putting out urgent fires.

I wish you a comfortable day.

References

[1] Van Oudenhove, L., & Aziz, Q. (2013). The role of visceral hypersensitivity in functional dyspepsia. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 9(6), 362.

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