Monthly Archives: March 2017

Dysfunction of the Burp Reflex (DBR) 2: The Cricopharyngeus Muscle

Apologies to all who have been awaiting more posts about the dysfunction of the burp (or belch) reflex (DBR). The sad truth is that I didn’t have anything new to write about! However, thanks to a couple of comments left in the previous post about this topic, there is a bit more I can add.

I had previously mentioned that the injection of botulinum toxin, commonly known under the brand name Botox, into the upper oesophageal sphincter was a new therapy to treat DBR (it has already been used for decades to treat other problems). Since my previous DBR post, a reader commented that her daughter had had the procedure done at the Bastian Voice Institute in Illinois, and that it appeared to have been successful. With other readers going for the same procedure at the institute and with the reassurance that they have had a 100% success rate out of 21 patients so far, it prompted me to try and find out more about this procedure.

Don't worry, it's not that scary! The injection is usually given under general anaesthetic.
Don’t worry, it’s not that scary! The injection is usually given under general anaesthetic.

Continue reading Dysfunction of the Burp Reflex (DBR) 2: The Cricopharyngeus Muscle