# Cricopharyngeal dysfunction: plain-language definition

Canonical: [https://followyourswallow.com/glossary/cricopharyngeal-dysfunction](https://followyourswallow.com/glossary/cricopharyngeal-dysfunction)

Cricopharyngeal dysfunction means the muscle at the very bottom of the throat did not relax or open normally to let the swallow pass through.

## In plain language

At the very bottom of the throat sits a ring of muscle called the cricopharyngeus. It stays shut most of the time and lets go for a moment during each swallow so food and liquid can pass into the esophagus, the tube leading to the stomach. That ring is the main working part of the upper esophageal sphincter, often shortened to UES. Cricopharyngeal dysfunction is the phrase used when that brief opening does not happen the way it normally would.

Reports describe this in a few different ways. One paper defines failure of the cricopharyngeus muscle to relax at the right time during swallowing, when no other motor problem is present, as primary cricopharyngeal dysphagia. Another describes the problem as poor coordination, or a smaller-than-usual maximum opening as the swallow passes through. On a moving X-ray of swallowing, the muscle can show up as a shelf pressing in from behind the column of barium at the pharyngoesophageal junction, the point where throat meets esophagus. That shelf is written up as a cricopharyngeal bar. A report may note narrowing at this level with barium left sitting above it.

This is a description of one spot in the swallow, not a diagnosis on its own. A cricopharyngeal bar can also turn up in people who have no swallowing complaints at all, which is why clinicians read it alongside everything else in the same study rather than by itself. It is described in the literature as difficult to identify and best seen on a videofluoroscopic swallow study. The finding says what the muscle did during the study. It does not say why, and it does not say what happens next.


## Why a clinician looks at this

An SLP notes this because the very end of the swallow is a doorway, and if that doorway does not open fully, material can stay behind in the throat instead of moving on. Knowing whether the holdup is at that last step, rather than earlier in the mouth or throat, helps the team decide which part of the swallow to look at more closely and who else may need to be involved. Because the same finding shows up in people with symptoms and in people without any, its presence on a report tells you nothing on its own about your own swallow or what should change.

## Sources

- [Sharma SC, Sakthivel P. "Cricopharyngeal bar." Pan African Medical Journal, 2017;27:288. PMC5660909](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5660909/)
- [Arenaz Bua B, et al. "Treatment of cricopharyngeal dysfunction: a comparative pilot study." BMC Research Notes, 2015 (PMC4498531) — defines CPD as possibly due to incoordination as well as reduction in maximal opening of the UES, and describes the cricopharyngeus as the only portion of the UES that actively participates in relaxation and tightening](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4498531/)
- [Duarte-Chavez R, Wey B, Kahaleh M. "Adaptation of peroral endoscopic myotomy for cricopharyngeal bar." VideoGIE, 2023 (PMC10122070) — defines the cricopharyngeal bar as a posterior indentation at the pharyngoesophageal junction caused by the cricopharyngeus muscle, and notes it can occur in asymptomatic patients](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10122070/)
- [Ramirez Ramirez OA, Hillman L. "An Unusual Disease With a Common Presentation: Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction in Inclusion Body Myositis." ACG Case Reports Journal, 2023 (PMC10621890) — notes diagnosis of a cricopharyngeal bar can be challenging and is best identified with a videofluoroscopic swallow study; describes chronic inflammation and scarring producing a hypertrophied, less compliant cricopharyngeus in inclusion body myositis specifically](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10621890/)
- [Knigge MA, Thibeault S, McCulloch TM. "Implementation of High-resolution Manometry in the Clinical Practice of Speech Language Pathology." Dysphagia, 2014 (PMC4201623) — background on UES opening measurement and post-swallow bolus residue](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4201623/)

Source checked: 2026-08-17

Clinical review: SLP review in progress

## Safety

This is a general definition, not an interpretation of a person's report. Ask the clinician who performed the study what the term means for that person.