I'm not sure what the hug is. I have had spasms in many parts of my body, but I don't think I feel like someone is crushing my rib cage, if that is it. I have felt a depression of the breathing muscles in the mid-abdomen when I have taken certain drugs, notably Lidocaine, Lyrica, and some of the chemos for Polycythemia Vera. I have had severe sudden spasms in the diaphragm area, but they don't feel like someone is hugging or crushing me. The depression of breathing I think is called bulbar paralysis--not complete paralysis in these cases, as I am still breathing.
The only hug I feel in the area is my bra putting pressure on me. I wish I did not have to wear one. But I am 38 C, without gaining much weight. In my disease Polycythemia Vera, some people get enlarged spleens, but I have not been told I have this. However if I don't wear a bra I feel awful with the sweating under the breasts. So I wear the dang thing. But I don't think this feels like what you have described as the hug.