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Achalasia refers to esophageal achalasia, a rare motility disorder that happens due to the defective nervous transmission of the smooth muscles of the esophagus- the food pipe. Your esophagus consists of smooth muscles which contract and relax (peristalsis) to push your food from the mouth to the stomach. The lower part of the esophagus has a ring of smooth muscles called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that acts like a gate that can open to allow the food to go down in the stomach and close so that the acidic contents from the stomach do not come back to the esophagus. In achalasia, the peristaltic movements of the esophagus are impaired, the LES remains tight and relax inadequately to let the food go down. Hence, the food remains in the esophagus, and also, some of the stomach contents can regurgitate back in the esophagus. Symptoms include difficulty in swallowing food, regurgitation, heartburn and pain in the chest. Surgical and non-surgical treatments are available, although none cure the disease. Primary Achalasia can occur by itself or may result from other esophageal disorders like cancer, in which case it is called secondary achalasia.