Acid Reflux - Hiatal Hernia
The Hiatal Hernia - Acid Reflux
has been called the "great mimic", because it mimics many disorders. A
person with this condition can get such severe pains in their chest that
they think they are having a heart attack. They may think they have an
over acid stomach because they will regurgitate stomach acid after they
eat, or their stomach may hurt so badly they will think they have an
ulcer. This is just a sampling of the symptoms that may occur from this
disorder.
We always recommend that you see a medical professional to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong.
What is a Hiatal Hernia?
When
you swallow, your food passes down a long tube known as the esophagus
into the stomach. This tube must pass through a muscle known as the
diaphragm, which is located near the bottom of your rib cage.
This
opening in the diaphragm, which permits the esophagus to pass through,
is regulated by a sphincter muscle (or "valve"), which relaxes and
opens, when we swallow, to permit the food to pass through the diaphragm
and into the stomach. This sphincter or valve closes to prevent stomach
acid from coming back up into the throat.
A hiatal hernia-acid reflux occurs when the top of the stomach rolls or slides up into this opening and becomes stuck there.
Naturally, when part of the stomach is forced up into the
diaphragm the sphincter muscle cannot close properly.
Thus,
stomach acid may travel back up into the esophagus causing burning
sensations (heartburn), esophageal spasms, inflammations and ulcers.
(known as the Acid Reflux)
Your diaphragm is a muscle. The
diaphragm has three large openings for passage of the aorta, esophagus,
and vena cana. When you don't use your diaphragm to breathe, it weakens,
and becomes flaccid.
This allows your stomach to be pushed
through your diaphragm by gas pressure in your digestive tract in what
is known as a hiatal hernia. The resulting pain is often confused for
the onset of a heart attack.
A flaccid diaphragm most often results from chest breathing or shallow breathing.
The
digestive tract has a series of one way valves to keep food material
moving in the correct direction: the esophageal valve in the esophagus, a
sphincter muscle valve between the esophagus and the stomach. The
pyloric valve between the stomach and the small intestine, the ileocecal
valve between the small intestine and the large intestine, and the
Houston valve in the descending colon.
When one or more of these
valves malfunctions, pressure from gas in the intestines may force food
material to back up, pushing stomach acid into the esophagus.
The
interesting discovery that we made with our studies in kinesiology was
the relationship between these valves and the diaphragm muscle.
The
valves generally do not malfunction as long as the diaphragm muscle
remains strong and in balance. Once the diaphragm muscle weakens one or
more of these valves may malfunction leading to a hiatal hernia and/or
acid reflux.
Once the causes of mock heart attack (hiatal hernia)
and acid reflux are properly identified, the preferred treatment becomes
apparent. Both conditions can be corrected by doing diaphragmatic
breathing exercises that both strengthen the diaphragm muscle and force
the stomach down and out of the diaphragm.
Technique in Practicing Using The Diaphragm
1. Place your hand on your stomach
When you take an in-breath your stomach goes out.
2. When you release your breath your stomach goes in.
When you take an in-breath your stomach goes out.
2. When you release your breath your stomach goes in.
This may be difficult to do at the beginning.
To practice, you can lie on your back and put a book on your
stomach. Concentrate with your in-breath pushing the book up and letting
it fall when you release your breath.
This exercise can be done on the spot in whatever position you happen to be, standing, sitting, or lying down.
What
I have discovered is that when I went to bed at night and did not feel
very well, I would put my hand on my stomach and concentrate when taking
an in breath to push my stomach out and feel it relax when I let my
breath out. I would do this slowly.
The ultimate answer is
learning to breathe with your diaphragm all the time. This involves
regular practice of diaphragmatic breathing, and a continuing
consciousness of how you are breathing.
As you continue this over a period of time, diaphragmatic breathing will become automatic.
A further benefit of diaphragmatic breathing is improved airflow into the lower parts of the lungs and better oxygenation
Once
again we have found that helping your body to heal itself through
muscle and energy balancing often provides satisfactory results in the
long run.
Proper diaphragmatic breathing is important for our
overall well-being. Proper diaphragmatic breathing assists us to
properly oxygenate our body, particularly during physical exercise,
reducing chronic fatigue due to shallow breathing.
It also helps
us to maintain proper muscle tone in our diaphragm. This in turn helps
us to hold our abdominal organs in the proper position and to reduce
abdominal and chest pains. This is often helpful after eating to reduce
gastronomic distress.
Another important feature of the Barhydt basic balances is that they always drive the body-mind toward equilibrium (or balance).
A
person cannot harm himself or herself by doing these balancing
exercises. Just do the exercise if you feel it may be helpful; it
generally takes just a few seconds in any case. This makes basic
balancing exercises appropriate for self-help.
Another benefit I
have discovered when I learned to breathe using my diaphragm is that I
can eat most anything like tomato-based foods (ketchup, spaghetti
sauce), citrus fruits, mint, and even chocolate within moderation.
