Re: Pain While Swallowing After Sleeper Hold, Normal?
Hi everyone,
I’m new here, having just started KM last week, so this is kind of strange first post for me. However, this is something that I do have some experience with, having done a bit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. What probably happened is that the choke was improperly applied, putting most of the pressure on your trachea, which in turn caused a little bit of trauma to your esophagus, which sits right behind it. The trachea is partially rigid, but the esophagus is soft. So that’s why you can breathe just fine, but are having pain when you swallow.
When I say that the choke was improperly applied, I mean that a “sleeper” hold is a carotid choke. Applying pressure to the trachea will hurt like hell and can cause damage, but it’s not the most efficient way to put someone to sleep.
I had a similar experience in BJJ and had pain for about two or three weeks (yes, this worried me a little at the time). You should be just fine, but if the pain or symptoms get WORSE, or you develop a fever, see a doctor right away.
Hope this helps and on a side note, I’m very excited to start KM.
