If you?ve been told you have a traumatic hiatal hernia and you?re wondering what it all means, you?ve come to the right page.

A hernia is basically a bulging of an organ that?s protruding outside of your abdomen or whatever muscle was encasing it.

Hernias that happen in the abdomen are the most common of all hernias, which is where your intestines are sticking through the stomach muscle. A hernia is a hernia, they just name them according to the area it takes place.

Some hernias hurt and some do not.

Here?s a list of 5 common hernias:

1. Inguinal hernia: A bulge in the groin or scrotum, usually in men.

2. Femoral hernia: A bulge found lower than the groin, usually in women after a pregnancy.

3. Ventral hernia: A bulge through an old surgical incision.

4. Umbilical hernia: A bulge around the naval area, common in babies and women.

5. Hiatal hernia: an ?invisible? hernia in the abdominal area, bulging up into the chest area.

The traumatic hiatal hernia occurs by bulging organs intruding upward past the muscle that separates the chest from the muscle from the abdomen. It?s traumatic because it hurts a lot, placing excessive pressure upon the heart, lungs and esophagus.

A traumatic hiatal hernia can feel like you?re dying of a heart attack, or even choking to death. Jumping up and down or stretching with your back arched on a yoga ball or a pile of pillows may help relieve the bulging, intruding organ pressure.

Some hernias can be congenital, meaning they are caused from birth defects, causing a weak spot in muscle fibers. If you are overweight or recently gained a large amount of weight, rarely exercise or have a history of surgical operations, your risk of having a traumatic hernia are greater.

Straining your stomach muscles suddenly can trigger a hiatal hernia, inguinal hernia, femoral hernia and a ventral hernia, more than an umbilical hernia, but it?s still possible especially with women after a pregnancy.

Sometimes you can actually push the herniated organ back through the traumatized muscle; this is called ?reducing? it.

If you can?t push it back or find a stretched or reclined position that will help ?reduce the hernia, it?s called ?incarcerated or irreducible.?

Half the people who have hernias have no obvious symptoms and if they do they are symptoms like heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux usually after eating a large or fatty meal.

If the patient?s lifestyle continues to cause trauma to the hernia, it will get bigger and bigger leaving the only solution to a surgeon. If ignored a traumatic hiatal hernia can become strangulated, cutting off blood flow and eventually lead to gangrene, a rotting of the flesh and you certainly don?t want to go through anything like that.

Here are 5 treatments that can offer some relief:

1. Do not lay down after meals
2. Avoid greasy animal fats foods, acidic forming foods, alcohol, and tobacco
3. Restrict calorie intake and eating small meals through the day.
4. Eating raw fruits and vegetables provide a high-fiber diet.
5. Do not take antacids, they can make things worse later

Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) offers manipulation techniques; acupuncture and ancient yoga positions that can help teach you powerful breathing and healing protocols, as well as nutritional and bioenergetic approaches becoming more popular.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist