Oesophagalgia is pain localised to the oesophagus, the muscular tube carrying food from the throat to the stomach. It typically presents as burning or squeezing discomfort behind the breastbone, and its causes range from gastro-oesophageal reflux and oesophageal spasm to infections and injury from swallowed tablets or caustic substances. Because the oesophagus sits close to the heart, its pain can mimic cardiac chest pain, and clinicians take care to distinguish the two before attributing symptoms to a digestive cause. In dietary management, oesophagalgia linked to reflux responds to weight loss where appropriate, smaller meals, avoidance of late-night eating, and limiting trigger foods such as fatty meals, chocolate, mint, and alcohol. Endoscopy is used when symptoms persist or alarm features appear.