It is a common story: I have heartburn. It feels like food gets caught in my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack. The burning goes up toward my throat.
These are just a few of the symptoms that make me check for a Hiatal Hernia in my clients. This is different than the hernia you get from lifting, where the intestines gush through the abdominal muscles, needing to be surgically repaired, often with mesh, to hold the intestines in. Hiatal Hernias (HH) are typically much less serious than this, but are often more annoying, and unfortunately, often overlooked.
So, what is an HH? “Hiatus” means opening. In this case, the opening in your diaphragm, where your food tube (esophagus) passes through before becoming the stomach. You probably know that the diaphragm is your breathing muscle, contracting to take a breath in and relaxing to exhale. What happens with the HH is that this opening in the diaphragm gets relaxed, or lax, and the very upper tip of the stomach protrudes through it. This allows acids to leave the stomach and get into the esophagus, thereby causing heartburn, acid reflux or GERD.
HHs are so easily checked for with muscle testing, that it is ridiculous for anyone to continue to suffer from them. And I can give you simple self-help procedures that often correct the problem. In chronic or more advanced HHs, additional help may be needed, such as taking digestive enzymes or digestive acids, and sometimes certain foods need to be avoided.
But here is what always applies that you can do for prevention: Eat smaller meals. Don’t lie down after eating. Don’t lean over the edge of a bathtub, car hood, or anything else that can push up on your stomach. And understand that pregnancy can bring on HHs temporarily due to the growing baby pushing up on the stomach.
Some HHs come and go: They can slip up into the diaphragm’s hiatus and other times the stomach will stay where it belongs.
I can check you for the probability of having a HH if you come see me. Periodically, The Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor will offer free Hiatal Hernia screenings, so call us if you’re interested. Learn how to correct this easily and naturally.
Dr. Sherry Yale, Doctor of Chiropractic, Applied Kinesiologist, Clinical Nutritionist
