Reflux Disease? Maybe It's a Pressure-Overload-Induced Sliding of the Hiatal Hernia? Injury is Common in Power Athletes & Bodybuilders - 7/8 Lifters Affected
If you don't want to have your phrenoesophageal ligament (see Figure 1 ) go baggy or rupture, you better watch your breath, when you're deadlifting and squatting or doing any other form of strenuous whole body lifting exercise. I know that the increasing naturopath followership will tell you that everyone suffering from reflux disease would just have to pound tons of betaine HCL (stomach acid) to cure this nasty condition... obviously, this is just like 99% of the common Internet wisdom only partially true. Yes, there are people who suffer from (non-acidic!) reflux due to insufficient stomach acid, but based on personal experience I would estimate that this is by no means the most frequent reason gymrats regurgitate their food involuntarily. Rather than a lack of stomach acid, the combination of a per se healthy, but hard to digest diet, the negative impact of exercise on the digestion process and last but not least the risk of developing a pressure-overload sliding of ...