The Omohyoid Syndrome

Sternohyoid muscle syndrome

“…The diagnosis of a sternohyoid syndrome is through symptoms and history taking. The patients have dysphagia or a palpable mass during swallowing, the same as with omohyoid syndrome [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Yet, reviewing the literature, omohyoid syndrome typically shows multiple symptoms.…”

“…A second proposed mechanism is due to a bony obstacle of the muscle. Caswell et al reported that in certain conditions, such as turning the head to the right or swallowing, excruciating pain developed and radiated toward the left shoulder [6]. Patients gained relief by resting with their neck flexed and turning their chins toward the left.…”

“…When the patients describe a lateral neck mass on swallowing which disappears after swallowing, the problem is more complicated and is usually diagnosed as an omohyoid muscle syndrome. A review of English language articles showed that omohyoid syndrome is commonly listed in a differential diagnosis for lateral neck mass [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The mechanism and pathophysiology of this syndrome are unknown, and the action of the omohyoid muscle is variable.…”

“…What is generally known is that omohyoid syndrome was first described by Zachary et al in 1969 [3]. Three authors reported omohyoid syndrome after an initial report in Lancet [4][5][6]. These patients complained about severe pain at the affected site, and after several hours the pain subsided spontaneously.…”

“…In physical examination, local tenderness along the omohyoid muscle was detected. These patients were treated with an analgesic or a maneuver which decreased tension in the omohyoid muscle [3,6]. The sternohyoid muscle is a long, thin muscle which is located bilaterally along the length of the front of the human neck, lateral to the trachea.…”