Fact Checked
Hiatal hernia happens when part of the stomach will push upward through the diaphragm and has a small opening called hiatus though which the food tube or esophagus passes to connect to the stomach, and it pushes up through this opening and causes a hiatal hernia. By enrolling in a first aid class, you can learn more about this condition.
Symptoms of hiatal hernia
Small cases of hiatal hernia cause no symptoms but for larger hiatal hernias, there are symptoms like belching, heartburn, difficulty in swallowing and fatigue.
A hiatal hernia happens when a weak muscle tissue makes the stomach swell via the diaphragm and this pressure on the stomach can cause the formation of hiatal hernia. There are some possible causes of hiatal hernia which includes the following:
- A person that is born with an unusually large hiatus
- An injury to the area
- Persistent and severe pressure can be felt that surrounds the muscles when coughing, straining during bowel movement, vomiting and when lifting heavy objects.
Treatment and home remedies
- Eat smaller meals rather than a few large meals
- Avoid eating foods that causes heartburn like chocolate, spicy foods, onions, citrus fruits and some tomato-based foods
- Avoid alcohol and eat at least two hours before going to sleep to allow the stomach time to empty into the intestines
- Stop smoking and try to lose weight if overweight or obese.
- Elevate the head of the bed about 6 inches or 15 centimeters to keep acid found in the stomach to move back into the esophagus during sleep.
- Wear clothes that fit properly and avoid clothes that are tight fitting especially in the mid-section of the body since it gives pressure on the stomach and will cause pain.
- When severely stressed, the digestion levels are slow and the stomach acid level rises. Perform some deep breathing techniques and meditations that can give comfort to the mind as well as exercises like walking and yoga can also help remove unwanted stress and relieve tension of the body.
Some stretches exercises for hiatal hernia
- Stretch one arm and place it up to a ledge or bar, grab and allow the body and hand and stretch, let the body hang loosely and stretch the torso as much as possible and repeat it several times a day to help protruded portions of the stomach to slide back into the abdominal cavity.
- Stretching exercises that help loosen and strengthen the abdomen and its supportive muscles such as standing side bends by bending forward at the waist while standing and hip-extension stretches at least 30-120 seconds in order to improve strength and flexibility.
- Do some diaphragmatic breathing several times a day by lying flat on the back with the knees slightly bent, then place one hand on the chest and another hand on the stomach. Breathe in deeply through the nose using the diaphragm, exhale deeply and tighten the stomach muscles and keep the hand in the chest. Do this procedure for four times.