REFLUX: a pretty common problem.

REFLUX

Reflux is a pretty common problem. It can manifest as a raspy voice, pressure under the sternum, nasal congestion, nausea, pain in the stomach/solar plexus, etc.

If you’ve been diagnosed with reflux, here are a few remedies you can try.

1. Elevate the head of your bed. You could, for example, put a 2 X 4 under the top legs of the bed (or a couple of matching books that you’ve been intending to read — and will get to as soon as your reflux resolves). This deploys gravity to help acid from moving out of the stomach into the lower esophagus. You could also make a little slope out of pillows that extend at least from behind your stomach up to your head
2. If you sleep on your side, sleep on your left side. The esophagus comes out of the stomach at an angle, and left-sided sleeping will help keep the acid in your stomach where it belongs.
3. Chew gum. It will help keep fluids moving down from the esophagus into the stomach rather than the other way around.
4. Drink a glass of water or apple juice, then bounce or shake your body for half a minute. The weight of the liquid will bring your stomach downward, away from the esophagus.
5. My all-knowing client and friend Frank swears by a chewable Papaya enzyme tablet. Try one.
6. Try this method: Find a soft spot just below the bottom of your sternum. Make a “bird’s beak” by putting all the fingertips of one hand together. Put the “bird’s beak” fingertips against the soft spot and reinforce that hand with your other palm. Now gently drag the tissue under the bird’s beak down, away from the sternum. This may move the top of your stomach away from the esophagus.
7. There are bodywork techniques that can help with reflux by freeing up the lowest ribs and diaphragm and decreasing upward pressure in the abdomen. I can use those techniques to help.
8. If any of these tips help you, let me know!