Hiatal Hernia affects the Vagus nerve (and standing up when working)

ytain

Jedi
_http://www.joyfullivingservices.com/hiatalhernia.html

Hiatal Hernia: An Overlooked Cause of Disease

By: Steven H. Horne

About three years ago Jack Ritchason, a naturopathic physician, corrected a health problem I must have carried since childhood--a hiatal hernia. The impact this simple maneuver has had on my health has amazed me. I immediately noticed a difference in my lung capacity and my digestion and in the months that followed I began to put some muscle on my skin and bones frame and gain newfound strength and stamina.

Dr. Ritchason tells me that this is a common health problem and my own observations as well as those of others confirm this fact. But this is more than a personal observation as the American Digestive Disease Society has estimated that nearly half of all adults--some 60 million people--have a hiatal hernia.

It occurs more often in women than in men. It affects people of all ages, but is most prevalent in people over 50 and highly likely in people over 65.

The Great Mimic
Hiatal Hernia has been called the "great mimic" because it mimics many disorders. A person with this problem can get such severe pains in their chest that they think they are having a heart attack. They may think they have an over acid stomach because they will regurgitate stomach acid after they eat, or their stomach may hurt so badly they will think they have an ulcer. This is just a sampling of the symptoms that may occur from this disorder.

What is a Hiatal Hernia?

When you swallow, your food passes down a long tube known as the esophagus into the stomach. This tube must pass through a muscle known as the diaphragm, which is located near the bottom of your rib cage. This opening in the diaphragm, which permits the esophogus to pass through, is regulated by a sphincter muscle (or "valve") which relaxes and opens when we swallow to permit the food to pass through the diaphram and into the stomach. This sphincter then closes to prevent stomach acid from coming back up into the throat. A hiatal hernia occurs when the top of the stomach rolls or slides up into this opening and becomes stuck there.

Symptoms

Naturally, when part of the stomach is forced into this opening, the sphincter cannot close properly. Thus, stomach acid may travel back up into the esophagus causing burning sensations (heartburn), esophageal spasms, inflammations and ulcers.

stomach The cramped position of the stomach can also stress the vagus nerve, which stimulates the release of hydrochloric acid. This can cause both over and under secretion of hydrochloric acid and stomach enzymes. It may also affect the sphincter or valve at the bottom of the stomach so that digestive secretions "leak" out of the stomach and are lost before they have completed their job.

The hiatal hernia will also interfere with the movement of the diaphragm muscle. This muscle normally pulls downward to expand the chest capacity and inflate the lungs. Since the hiatal hernia interferes with this movement, the person may be restricted to shallow breathing, or will resort to using the chest and shoulders to expand the lung capacity and take a deep breath.

The esophagus may also "kink" in the throat, which will irritate the thyroid gland and may cause some difficulty in swallowing. Often persons with hiatal hernias will have difficulty in swallowing capsules or tablets as they get the sensation that they are "sticking" in their throat.

The irritation on the vagus nerve can cause reflex irritations throughout the body. The vagus nerve comes from the medulla and goes to the heart, esophagus, lungs, stomach, small intestines, liver, gall bladder, pancreas and colon. It also hass links to the kidney, bladder, and external genitalia. Thus, a hiatal hernia may start imbalances in the system such as decreased stomach acid and ph imbalance in the intestines and elsewhere.

If a person develops poor stomach digestion due to a lack of hydrocholoric acid, they will have difficulty digesting and assimilating protein and most minerals. It will also contribute to food putrefacation in the intestines, causing greater toxicity in the body. This lack of nutrition and toxic condition may contribute towards food allergies, constipation, anemia and immune and glandular system weaknesses.

Two other problems that a hiatal hernia may contribute to are asthma and heart disease. Since the hernia reduces the lung capacity by interfering with natural breathing, it could be a factor in asthma. The hernia may also put pressure on the heart. Gas in the intestines may put pressure on the hernia and push it against the bottom of the heart, which may be one way in which a heart attack can be triggered. None of this spells immediate fatality, but it does point to a major contributing factor in degenerative illness.

Causes

The causes of a hiatal hernia are speculative and unique to each individual. However, there are a number causes. First of all there may be a mechanical cause. Improper lifting, hard coughing bouts heavy lifting, sharp blows to the abdomen (the kind that "knock the wind out of you"), tight clothing and poor posture may contribute to the development of this problem. Improper lifting may be the biggest mechanical cause of this disorder. If the air is not expelled out of a person's lungs while lifting, it will force the stomach into the esophagus.

Secondly, there are dietary causes. Hiatal hernia just about always accompnies a swollen ileocecal valve. The ileocecal valve is the valve between the small and large intestines which permits material to enter the colon from the large intestine, but prevents material in the colon from moving back into the small intestine. When this valve becomes swollen and irritated it cannot close properly. This allows material from the colon to leak back into the small intestine. This is analogous your sewer backing up into your kitchen. This creates gas and indigestion, which puts pressure on the stomach and presses it tighter against the diaphram.

The relationship between the ileocecal valve and the hiatal hernia is a chicken/egg situation ... it is hard to know which comes first. However, it is clear that the ileocecal problem aggravates the hernia. Hence, the things which irritate that valve may be causal factors. These are the basic causes of digestive problems: poor food combining, overeating, drinking with meals, overeating and eating when upset.

Lastly, there are emotional causes. According to one applied kinesiologist text a hiatal hernia comes from repressed anger. A person "swallows their anger" and "can't stomach it." When you get angry, you suck your beadth upward. If you fail to release this anger, your stomach stays up. I have observed that most of the people with severe hiatal hernias have a great deal of emotional stress and hold a lot of it inside.

Identification

The easiest way to tell if you or someone you know has a hiatal hernia is to place your fingers on the solar Plexus, just below the breastbone. Then take a deep breath. You should feel the solar plexus expand and move outward. If there is no movement at the solar plexus and you have to lift your chest and shoulders to take a deep breath, then you probably have a hiatal hernia. You should be able to take a deep abdominal breath without lifting your shoulders.

There are other, more complicated, methods of determining if you have a hiatal hernia, such as muscle testing, but this is a fairly simple and reliable method.

Correction

Since a hiatal hernia is primarily a mechanical problem, the easiest and best way to correct it is mechanically. Medical doctors have attempted surgery to correct this disorder, but the results tend to be poor. Cutting into this area can further weaken it so that the hernia will return in short order. A better method is to manipulate the stomach and bring down the hernia by hand. Unfortunately, you can't do this to yourself. You will need to find a good chiropractor, applied kinesiologist or massage therapist who understands this problems and knows how to correct it.

If you want to learn how to do this adjustment to others, you will have to find someone who does it and have them show you how since it is impossible to adequately describe the technique(s) in writing. They have to be learned through demonstration and practice.

For a chiropractor in your area who knows how to adjust hiatal hernias, click here.

Self-Adjustment

There are some self-help adjustment techniques. They aren't as effective as having someone else perform the adjustment, but they may help. The best one I've tried is to drink a pint of warm water first thing in the morning, then stand on your toes and drop suddenly to your heels several times. The warm water helps to relax the stomach and diaphragm and puts some weight in the stomach. By dropping down suddenly, the weight of the water helps to pull the stomach down. In a mild case, this might be enough to bring the hernia down. In a more severe case it may loosen the stomach and make it easier for someone else to bring it down. It will also help you to keep the stomach down once mechanical corrections have been made.

Nutrititional Aids

Until the problem is corrected mechanically, there are some nutritional therapies which may be of help. Immediate, but temporary, relief of pain and discomfort can often be achieved by the use of a mucilaginous herb like slippery elm or comfrey. These herbs absorb the digestive secretions and help to prevent their traveling back up the esophagus and burning it. They also help to prevent irritation of the ileocecal valve. Comfrey can also speed the healing of this problem once mechanical adjustments have been made. Okra pepsin is a good combination for this problem as well.

Marshmallow is also helpful in soothing the mucous membranes for hiatal hernias and other ulcerations in the gastrointestinal system.

A digestive aid will help the person obtain the nutrients they need when the hernia is interfering with digestion.

This may take the form of a hydrochloric acid supplement or a food enzyme tablet, or perhaps an herbal digestive aid such as papaya and peppermint, chamomile tea, safflowers, ginger root and so forth.

Other food or herb products that have been used to help people with hiatal hernias include: raw cabbage juice (where ulcerations have occurred), balm, barley water, brown rice, celery, coriander, gentian, hops, licorice, marshmallow and passion flower.

Dietary modifications may be necessary to relieve the problem and to keep it from reoccurring once it has been corrected. Since the pressure of abdominal gas can push the stomach upward, it would be advisable to avoid gas forming foods like beans. It would also be wise to watch food combinations carefully and to avoid overeating. Dr. Jack Ritchason recommends that people with hiatal hernias avoid eating any heavy meals after 3 pm.

Below you will find a checklist of symptoms which will help you in identifying people who have this problem so they can take steps to correct it.

Symptoms of a Hiatal Hernia

What is a Hitatal Hernia?

A hiatal hernia occurs when the top of the stomach rolls or slides up into the opening in the diaphragm which the esophogus passes through and becomes stuck there.

This condition may create difficulty with digestion (and hence general nutrition and well-being) as well as breathing difficulties, nervous problems, circulatory problems and glandular imbalances. All of the following symptoms have been connected with a hiatal hernia. If you have some of these symptoms especially those marked with an asterisk (*) you may wish to consider being checked for this condition.

DIGESTIVE DIFFICULTIES

*Belching, *Bloating, *Heartburn, *Difficulty digesting meat/high protein foods, Tension or pressure at the solar plexis, Sensitivity at the waist, Intestinal gas, Regurgitation, Hiccups, Lack or limitation of appetite, Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Constipation, Colic in children, Difficulty in gaining weight or overweight, Ulcers.

BREATHING AND CIRCULATION PROBLEMS

*Difficulty with deep abdominal breathing, *Difficulty in swallowing capsules, *Asthma, *Inability to take a deep breath from diaphragm, Overall fatigue, Tendency to swallow air, Allergies, Dry tickling cough, Full feeling at base of throat, Pain or burning in upper chest, Pressure in the chest, Pain in the left side of chest, Pressure below breastbone, Lung pain, Rapid heartbeat, Rapid rise in blood pressure, Pain in left shoulder, arm or side of neck.

STRUCTURAL COMPLAINTS

TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint Pain), Bruxism (Grinding teeth in sleep), Joint pain, Localized or overall spinal pain, Headaches.

STRESS

*Suppression of anger or other emotions, *Living with or having lived with a quick-tempered person, Dizziness, Shakiness, Mental Confusion, Anxiety attacks, Insomnia, Hyperactivity in children.

OTHER AILMENTS

*Open ileocecal valve, *General weakness, *Difficulty in getting and/or staying healthy, Overactive thyroid, Cravings for sugar or alcohol, Candida Albicans, Menstrual or prostate problems, Urinary difficulties, Hoarseness.

Sources

For more information about the problem of hiatal hernias, read the book "Hiatal Hernia Syndrome: Insidious Link to Major Illness" by Theodore A. Baroody, Jr., M.A., D.C., "Hiatus Hernia" by Penny Hemphill from an Australian Magazine, Nature & Health, and "Chiropractic Handout".

I've read that the surgery is not recommended because the surgeons can inevitably cut into the vagus nerve by accident or deliberately to deal with the condition.

Only a competent chiropractor or osteopath can also help with this and teach you how to do it.

Two youtube videos on solving the hiatal hernia:

"How to Identify and Correct a Hiatal Hernia: Part 1 "
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrdNfaanpIs

"How to Identify and Correct a Hiatal Hernia: Part 2 "
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX0zKB2_-UM


This condition could affect your ability to do EE properly.

Also this condition can be caused by sitting improperly in recliner chairs/couches or slouching forward when eating or working.

Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?
_https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html?_r=1

By JAMES VLAHOS
Published: April 14, 2011

DR. LEVINE’S MAGIC UNDERWEAR resembled bicycle shorts, black and skintight, but with sensors mounted on the thighs and wires running to a fanny pack. The look was part Euro tourist, part cyborg. Twice a second, 24 hours a day, the magic underwear’s accelerometers and inclinometers would assess every movement I made, however small, and whether I was lying, walking, standing or sitting.

James Levine, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has an intense interest in how much people move — and how much they don’t. He is a leader of an emerging field that some call inactivity studies, which has challenged long-held beliefs about human health and obesity. To help me understand some of the key findings, he suggested that I become a mock research trial participant. First my body fat was measured inside a white, futuristic capsule called a Bod Pod. Next, one of Dr. Levine’s colleagues, Shelly McCrady-Spitzer, placed a hooded mask over my head to measure the content of my exhalations and gauge my body’s calorie-burning rate. After that, I donned the magic underwear, then went down the hall to the laboratory’s research kitchen for a breakfast whose calories were measured precisely.

A weakness of traditional activity and obesity research is that it relies on self-reporting — people’s flawed recollections of how much they ate or exercised. But the participants in a series of studies that Dr. Levine did beginning in 2005 were assessed and wired up the way I was; they consumed all of their food in the lab for two months and were told not to exercise. With nary a snack nor workout left to chance, Dr. Levine was able to plumb the mysteries of a closed metabolic universe in which every calorie, consumed as food or expended for energy, could be accounted for.

His initial question — which he first posed in a 1999 study — was simple: Why do some people who consume the same amount of food as others gain more weight? After assessing how much food each of his subjects needed to maintain their current weight, Dr. Levine then began to ply them with an extra 1,000 calories per day. Sure enough, some of his subjects packed on the pounds, while others gained little to no weight.

“We measured everything, thinking we were going to find some magic metabolic factor that would explain why some people didn’t gain weight,” explains Dr. Michael Jensen, a Mayo Clinic researcher who collaborated with Dr. Levine on the studies. But that wasn’t the case. Then six years later, with the help of the motion-tracking underwear, they discovered the answer. “The people who didn’t gain weight were unconsciously moving around more,” Dr. Jensen says. They hadn’t started exercising more — that was prohibited by the study. Their bodies simply responded naturally by making more little movements than they had before the overfeeding began, like taking the stairs, trotting down the hall to the office water cooler, bustling about with chores at home or simply fidgeting. On average, the subjects who gained weight sat two hours more per day than those who hadn’t.

People don’t need the experts to tell them that sitting around too much could give them a sore back or a spare tire. The conventional wisdom, though, is that if you watch your diet and get aerobic exercise at least a few times a week, you’ll effectively offset your sedentary time. A growing body of inactivity research, however, suggests that this advice makes scarcely more sense than the notion that you could counter a pack-a-day smoking habit by jogging. “Exercise is not a perfect antidote for sitting,” says Marc Hamilton, an inactivity researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

The posture of sitting itself probably isn’t worse than any other type of daytime physical inactivity, like lying on the couch watching “Wheel of Fortune.” But for most of us, when we’re awake and not moving, we’re sitting. This is your body on chairs: Electrical activity in the muscles drops — “the muscles go as silent as those of a dead horse,” Hamilton says — leading to a cascade of harmful metabolic effects. Your calorie-burning rate immediately plunges to about one per minute, a third of what it would be if you got up and walked. Insulin effectiveness drops within a single day, and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes rises. So does the risk of being obese. The enzymes responsible for breaking down lipids and triglycerides — for “vacuuming up fat out of the bloodstream,” as Hamilton puts it — plunge, which in turn causes the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol to fall.

Hamilton’s most recent work has examined how rapidly inactivity can cause harm. In studies of rats who were forced to be inactive, for example, he discovered that the leg muscles responsible for standing almost immediately lost more than 75 percent of their ability to remove harmful lipo-proteins from the blood. To show that the ill effects of sitting could have a rapid onset in humans too, Hamilton recruited 14 young, fit and thin volunteers and recorded a 40 percent reduction in insulin’s ability to uptake glucose in the subjects — after 24 hours of being sedentary.

Over a lifetime, the unhealthful effects of sitting add up. Alpa Patel, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, tracked the health of 123,000 Americans between 1992 and 2006. The men in the study who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20 percent higher than the men who sat for three hours or less. The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40 percent higher. Patel estimates that on average, people who sit too much shave a few years off of their lives.

Another study, published last year in the journal Circulation, looked at nearly 9,000 Australians and found that for each additional hour of television a person sat and watched per day, the risk of dying rose by 11 percent. The study author David Dunstan wanted to analyze whether the people who sat watching television had other unhealthful habits that caused them to die sooner. But after crunching the numbers, he reported that “age, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, waist circumference, body-mass index, glucose tolerance status and leisure-time exercise did not significantly modify the associations between television viewing and all-cause . . . mortality.”

Sitting, it would seem, is an independent pathology. Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin. “Excessive sitting,” Dr. Levine says, “is a lethal activity.”

The good news is that inactivity’s peril can be countered. Working late one night at 3 a.m., Dr. Levine coined a name for the concept of reaping major benefits through thousands of minor movements each day: NEAT, which stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. In the world of NEAT, even the littlest stuff matters. McCrady-Spitzer showed me a chart that tracked my calorie-burning rate with zigzagging lines, like those of a seismograph. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to one of the spikes, which indicated that the rate had shot up. “That’s when you bent over to tie your shoes,” she said. “It took your body more energy than just sitting still.”

In a motion-tracking study, Dr. Levine found that obese subjects averaged only 1,500 daily movements and nearly 600 minutes sitting. In my trial with the magic underwear, I came out looking somewhat better — 2,234 individual movements and 367 minutes sitting. But I was still nowhere near the farm workers Dr. Levine has studied in Jamaica, who average 5,000 daily movements and only 300 minutes sitting.

Dr. Levine knows that we can’t all be farmers, so instead he is exploring ways for people to redesign their environments so that they encourage more movement. We visited a chairless first-grade classroom where the students spent part of each day crawling along mats labeled with vocabulary words and jumping between platforms while reciting math problems. We stopped by a human-resources staffing agency where many of the employees worked on the move at treadmill desks — a creation of Dr. Levine’s, later sold by a company called Steelcase.

Dr. Levine was in a philosophical mood as we left the temp agency. For all of the hard science against sitting, he admits that his campaign against what he calls “the chair-based lifestyle” is not limited to simply a quest for better physical health. His is a war against inertia itself, which he believes sickens more than just our body. “Go into cubeland in a tightly controlled corporate environment and you immediately sense that there is a malaise about being tied behind a computer screen seated all day,” he said. “The soul of the nation is sapped, and now it’s time for the soul of the nation to rise.”



Become a Stand-Up Guy: The History, Benefits, and Use of Standing Desks
http://artofmanliness.com/2011/07/05/become-a-stand-up-guy-the-history-benefits-and-use-of-standing-desks/

You can check the photos there at the link.

In the past couple of years, as studies have come out sounding the alarm on the ill-effects of excessive sitting, the popularity of standing or stand-up desks has soared. Those who have read much of the coverage of this trend might be forgiven for thinking that standing to work constitutes a new hip fad.

But as it is with many things, everything old is new again. For the stand-up desk was cool long before the cats in Silicon Valley got hip to them. They’ve actually been a secret of great men for centuries. Today we’ll explore the standing desk’s place in history, discuss the benefits of using one, and outline how you can rediscover this old/new tradition.


The Standing Desk in History


Searching the historical record, and by historical record I mean Google Books, you’ll find mentions of the standing desk in a variety of places.

Old inventories of furniture from state legislatures and other government bodies during the 19th century often include an entry for stand-up desks. And in industrial journals you’ll find references like this one:

“Mr. W. H. Thompson, President of the gas company, with his hat off, stood near the centre of the room, behind a standing desk used by the weigher of the establishment. To his right Emerson McMillin, with his silk hat on, chewed at a cigar.”


School classrooms were sometimes outfitted with standing desks. In an 1899 book, School Hygiene, Dr. Ludwig Wilhelm Johannes Kotelmann described the rationale behind their use:

“It has in late years been repeatedly suggested that even with the proper kind of desk much sitting is liable to injure the abdominal organs and the circulation. Desks have accordingly been proposed which can be arranged for standing as well as sitting. These are hardly necessary for the lower and intermediate classes, since the pupils here rise when questioned, and tumble about vigorously on the play ground during recesses. They are rather to be thought of for the upper classes.”

The book showcases some of the designs for student desks that converted from sitting to standing:

In another instance of the everything old is new again phenomena, schools are once more experimenting with giving students adjustable height desks, which allow them to stand and work. Educators feel such desks help students focus more, since kids (and adults!) aren’t made to sit still all day.

The stand-up desk has also been the favorite workstation of many a great man from history.

Thomas Jefferson is perhaps the most famous user of the stand-up desk. His six-legged “tall desk” had an adjustable slanted top that was large enough to place a folio. Jefferson used the desk to draw up brilliant architectural blueprints for buildings like the Virginia State Capitol.

Jefferson was not the only head of state to favor the standing desk. Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck would be standing at his desk by five in the morning, ready to sort through all the proposals and business of the day. When Winston Churchill was not lounging in bed, he liked to lay out the galley proofs of his next book on an upright desk and pore over them, looking for needed corrections.

Many authors felt like standing up to work got their creative juices flowing. Charles Dickens used one, as revealed by the description of his study by a visitor: “books all round, up to the ceiling and down to the ground; a standing desk at which he writes; and all manner of comfortable easy chairs.”

Ernest Hemingway discovered the standing desk method from his editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons, Maxwell Perkins. In Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir, AE Hotchner describes Hemingway’s set-up in his home in Havana:

“In Ernest’s room there was a large desk covered with stacks of letters, magazines, and newspaper clippings, a small sack of carnivores’ teeth, two unwound clocks, shoehorns, an unfilled pen in an onyx holder, a wood carved zebra, wart hog, rhino and lion in single file, and a wide-assortment of souvenirs, mementos and good luck charms. He never worked at the desk. Instead, he used a stand up work place he had fashioned out of a bookcase near his bed. His portable typewriter was snugged in there and papers were spread along the top of the bookcase on either side of it. He used a reading board for longhand writing.”

5 Reasons to Use a Stand-Up Desk

So should you follow in Jefferson’s and Hemingway’s footsteps and start working on your feet? Here are five reasons to consider making the switch:

1. To Avoid an Early Grave

Excessive sitting is slowly killing you. I know. It seems like hyperbole. But it’s not. A study found that men who sit for more than six hours of their leisure time each day had a 20% higher death rate than those who sat for three hours or less. The epidemiologist who conducted the study, Alpha Patel, concluded that excessive sitting literally shortens a person’s life by several years. Another study showed that men who sat for 23 or more hours a week had a 64% greater chance of dying from heart disease than those who sat for 11 hours per week or less.

So why is sitting so frighteningly bad for you?

Well sitting is the ultimate passive activity; you burn more calories chewing gum than you do slouching in your chair.

When you sit, the electrical activity in your muscles flat lines, and your body uses very little energy. Powering down your body like that for long periods of time leads to a cascade of negative effects. Your heart rate, calorie burn, insulin effectiveness, and levels of good cholesterol all drop. Your body also stops producing lipoprotein lipase and other molecules that are only released when you flex your muscles, such as when you are standing and walking. These molecules play an important role in processing fats and sugars; without them, your metabolism suffers. Add these factors up, and it’s no wonder that those who sit for long periods of time each day have larger waistlines and worse blood sugar and blood pressure profiles and are at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than who sit less.

And if you think you’re off the hook because you get in a bout of vigorous exercise each day…you’re not. Studies have shown that exercise does not counteract the negative effects of sitting. It’s like thinking you can snack on Twinkies all day, and then offset that by running for an hour.

2. To Lose Weight

As mentioned above, when you sit, your heart rate and calorie burn go down. Health experts will tell you that weight gain typically creeps on gradually from consuming a few too many calories here and there, and slowing down in small ways as we age. We just keeping putting on a couple of pounds each year until a decade goes by and suddenly we’re tubby. I did a test with my heart rate monitor and found that my heart rate was 10 beats higher when I was standing than sitting, and I burned 54 calories in an hour of sitting as opposed to 72 in an hour of standing. That doesn’t seem like much, but if you sub in four hours of standing for four hours of sitting a day, that could translate to 7 lbs a year!

3. To Save Your Back

When I go to the gym I see all these middle-aged guys lying on the floor and contorting their bodies into weird stretches in an attempt to alleviate their chronic back pain. These aren’t blue-collar men who’ve strained their back from years of heavy labor; no, they are white collar guys whose pain stems from not using their backs enough. Years of slouching in a chair has taken a toll. Standing up engages your back muscles and improves your posture. Many folks who have made the switch to a stand-up desk have reported that the change cured their back pain.

4. To Increase Your Focus

Standing up can increase your focus in several ways. First, you don’t get that sleepy feeling where you desperately want to put your head down on the desk and pass out; your muscles are engaged and you’re less comfortable, so you stay alert. And second, it lets you be more active so you can release your restless energy. You can move around more, shift from one leg to another, and start pacing around whenever you’d like.

And perhaps there’s something to be said for the argument one hears from creative-types that standing increases your blood flow, thus keeping your brain juiced for inspiration.

5. To Gain a Satisfying Tiredness

While you get less sleepy while working standing up, at the same time you gain a satisfying overall tiredness by the end of the day. I hate going to bed feeling like my body hasn’t done a damn thing all day. When you stand up while you work, you earn that satisfying body-used feeling, and at night you fall asleep fast into a restful snooze.
Making the Switch to the Stand-Up Desk

So you’re sold on the whole standing desk thing. How do you get started?


Well of course you can just buy a standing desk outright. BeyondtheOfficeDoor.com carries great, Made in America desks that are built with electric motors that easily adjust the desks up and down, so you can alternate sitting and standing. Or you can shop for more classic styles on sites like standupdesks.com

Luckily, you need not have $800 to drop on a new desk if you want to start standing up while you work. The options for jerry-rigging a stand-up desk are limited only by your imagination, and the tolerance levels of others for your potential eyesore of a creation.

I use a kitchen counter that’s about the right height for working. And I also frequent a coffee shop that has a high table that can be used with stools or for standing up. In my old place, I stacked together a bunch of large books and placed my computer on top.

You can also raise your whole desk by placing it on top of cinder blocks or milk crates. Or you can set a coffee table on top of your current desk.

And you don’t even have to start with a desk at all. You can stack together some plastic storage tubs or boxes, or use a book shelf or even an ironing board. Folks have also had luck with modifying IKEA furniture to their purposes.

Of course the third option is to build the desk yourself. I’m going to be doing just that, documenting it, and sharing how I did it with you guys once I’m done.

Finally, here are a few things to keep in mind no matter what form your standing desk takes:

If you work in an office, some or all of these options may not be viable. You can talk to your boss about getting a different desk. And you can always stand up to surf the web and such when you get home. I personally like to pace around while reading my Kindle.
Excessive sitting isn’t healthy, but standing all day long in the same place isn’t the best thing for you either. Ideally, you want to move around and change positions throughout the day, standing sometimes, then sitting, then pacing, and so on. So keep that in mind when buying or making a desk; get an adjustable one so you can both stand and sit, or have a place to sit near your upright desk (or use a stool). You might consider getting just a podium to place next to your regular desk.
For the best ergonomic positioning, create a stand-up set-up that puts your arms at about 90 degrees while you type. If you’re keen on getting the ergonomics just right, check out this write up from David Martinez on how to find the perfect height for your desk.
Standing up while you work will take some getting used to. At first it will seem tiring, but as you continue to do it, your body adapts, and you’ll be able to stand for longer and longer periods of time. You might also consider getting a soft pad to stand on to give your dew beaters some extra cushioning.

So get to work like Jefferson, and soon people will be saying that you’re a real stand-up guy!

Ytain
 
I wanted to make the title of the subject longer but I couldn't so I had to shorten.

The correct title is "Hiatal Hernia affects the Vagus nerve (and standing up when working to prevent this condition from occuring)

On a related note, I wanted to mention that I got it last year when I slipped down the carpeted stairs in the house I've lived before. It gave me the same symptoms of dull pain in the chest and shortness of breath. Afterwards I had to be hospitalized for jaundice because a gallstone got stuck in the biliary duct which was easily removed by ERCP (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) procedure. However I did not cave into the doctors' pressure to remove my gallbladder.

I guess the stressed out vagus nerve, from the trauma of slipping down the stairs, triggered false signals to the liver and gallbladder, and as well the biliary ducts which led to the condition I got at that time.

I wanted to write it just in case someone finds it useful.

And for standing up erect in front of the computer sitting on a makeshift stand up desk, it gives me relief from hiatal hernia to an extent.

And as well you can check the other thread I made on the topic of gallstones.

Ytain
 
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I read the Stand Up Guy article on Sott. It really made me interested, so the next day I made my own stand up desk and put my computer over it. It was quite uncomfortable to stand the whole time and I kept wanting to sit down again, predictably. Maybe I'll start getting up and walking around every half and hour or so instead.

The description of hiatal hernia is making me wonder if I have a mild case of it, since I'm having a bit of constipation and belching and occasional headaches. I passed the solar plexus test though. I might get some HCl just to see if it helps.

Thanks for the articles ytain :flowers:
 
Thanks for the info. One thing in the article caught my attention:

Identification

The easiest way to tell if you or someone you know has a hiatal hernia is to place your fingers on the solar Plexus, just below the breastbone. Then take a deep breath. You should feel the solar plexus expand and move outward. If there is no movement at the solar plexus and you have to lift your chest and shoulders to take a deep breath, then you probably have a hiatal hernia. You should be able to take a deep abdominal breath without lifting your shoulders.

This might be true, but there are numerous other causes, physical and psychological, that make people use upper, shallow breathing - engaging the emergency breathing muscles. One of the biggest "contributors" is stress, as we all know.
 
Aragorn said:
Thanks for the info. One thing in the article caught my attention:

Identification

The easiest way to tell if you or someone you know has a hiatal hernia is to place your fingers on the solar Plexus, just below the breastbone. Then take a deep breath. You should feel the solar plexus expand and move outward. If there is no movement at the solar plexus and you have to lift your chest and shoulders to take a deep breath, then you probably have a hiatal hernia. You should be able to take a deep abdominal breath without lifting your shoulders.

This might be true, but there are numerous other causes, physical and psychological, that make people use upper, shallow breathing - engaging the emergency breathing muscles. One of the biggest "contributors" is stress, as we all know.

Yeah that is true. Reminds me of this part:

The relationship between the ileocecal valve and the hiatal hernia is a chicken/egg situation ... it is hard to know which comes first. However, it is clear that the ileocecal problem aggravates the hernia. Hence, the things which irritate that valve may be causal factors. These are the basic causes of digestive problems: poor food combining, overeating, drinking with meals, overeating and eating when upset.

Maybe the hiatal hernia is caused by stress, that caused the person to adopt unhealthy breathing habits, which then caused him to stop using his diaphragm. It's a real chicken/egg situation as everything is interconnected.

Reading it caused me to worry a little bit since there were so many symptoms that matched mine, then a little while later I calmed down and took it one step at a time. I realised that I am a bit of a hypochondriac at times. Anyway, I am getting some HCl to help with my digestion.
 
I've only read the first article here, but I think I have some hiatal hernia symptoms. Maybe starting early this year, when I massage my back, shoulders or even arms or jaw my stomach will gurgle. And I've had some heartburn. I was getting heart related symptoms and it all checked out fine, so it seems it can mimic that.

I've done the heel drops and they actually are too much of a shock and make me dizzy. Same with bouncing with your knees after drinking a glass of warm water (I never could head bang much when listening to music). There are some manual maneuvers you can do by pressing on your stomach that seem to help. I think you have to be careful with these too, but I'm doing something like this first video:



And it seems posture and scoliosis can play a part, so a chiropractor might help:


Here are some exercises to focus on the diaphragm:


Heavy lifting or running may be too much. Topical Magnesium oil. Yoga helps as well as eating slowly:

 
You might find the discussion and video's in the following thread helpful too, @3DStudent.

Accessing the healing power of the vagus nerve

One of the ideas discussed, IIRC from the book, is that the vagus nerve itself can be in a contracted state and that can pull the stomache up hard against the diaphragm. So there are exercises to help stretch out the vagus nerve and one that is similar to the self adjustment of hiatal hernia shown above.
 
I wish i knew that earlier!
I spend time every night bringing the belly down to breathe easy enough to sleep/
i lean forward all day to breathe easier.
Maybe going on the trampoline is a good idea.
 
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Thanks for the info. One thing in the article caught my attention:



This might be true, but there are numerous other causes, physical and psychological, that make people use upper, shallow breathing - engaging the emergency breathing muscles. One of the biggest "contributors" is stress, as we all know.
I agree, it seems to be a condition on the rise along with gastriritis and heartburn... I suspected some time ago that I could have this condition due to excessive gastritis and belching, but it turned out that it was mostly stress, in my case due to financial problems... I fixed this and the problem went away quickly and completely.
 
I wanted to make the title of the subject longer but I couldn't so I had to shorten.

The correct title is "Hiatal Hernia affects the Vagus nerve (and standing up when working to prevent this condition from occuring)

On a related note, I wanted to mention that I got it last year when I slipped down the carpeted stairs in the house I've lived before. It gave me the same symptoms of dull pain in the chest and shortness of breath. Afterwards I had to be hospitalized for jaundice because a gallstone got stuck in the biliary duct which was easily removed by ERCP (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) procedure. However I did not cave into the doctors' pressure to remove my gallbladder.

I guess the stressed out vagus nerve, from the trauma of slipping down the stairs, triggered false signals to the liver and gallbladder, and as well the biliary ducts which led to the condition I got at that time.

I wanted to write it just in case someone finds it useful.

And for standing up erect in front of the computer sitting on a makeshift stand up desk, it gives me relief from hiatal hernia to an extent.

And as well you can check the other thread I made on the topic of gallstones.

Ytain
I have hiatal hernia. You have no idea how much the information you posted helped to understand my condition and why I cannot digest meat and beef meat in particular.
 
Thank you for posting this info - I have hiatal hernia as well and it IS related in my case to scoliosis...which was fairly mild with few symptoms except neck and shoulder stiffness. But, it grew worse over time, and the hernia has caused many sleepless nights - it flares up when I lie down. Fortunately, I have finally found a chiropractor who 'gets it'! I am on a six month treatment plan, so am feeling more hopeful. She has some scanning tools that let us see where the energy blockages are in the spine, vertebra by vertebra.

Another thing that has helped is massage - i found one of those ubiquitous Chinese foot reflex salons where they also do back massages. These people are great as they know exactly how to hone on on the knots in my neck and upper back, so those are slowly getting softer. That helps with the adjustments and they seem to hold longer. I also purchased a back cushion for my computer chair - that in itself was a game changer. It supports the lower back and reduced the stress on my upper back and shoulders massively. If you spend a number of hours at a computer, it's worth every penny. I bought this one from Amazon.

I love the videos by Dr. Joe - I have watched a number of hers before. As far as exercises, I mostly just walk, do elliptical or bicycle and some very gentle yoga - just trying to keep in shape and strengthen muscles without putting undue strain on anything. Will update this thread as treatment progresses, and if i think of anything else helpful. Diet has had to change - all those fizzy drinks and anything too acidic / spicy have gone by the wayside. :-(
 
I went back to my chiropractor on Monday and whined some more about the hernia as I had a few sleepless nights. So - she took the activator and made me stand up against the wall and used it several times just below the xiphoid process. Then she took her fist and pushed in and down very hard. Not a pleasant process, but it seemed to do the trick! She said she learned it from a chiro in Canada. I looked for examples on the web, but most chiropractors do something similar with the patient lying down. I found a video of a chiro in Houston that does several different adjustments, then does that maneuver with the patient lying down face up. He teaches family member of his patients how to do this, so they can help when the person can't get in for a treatment.
 
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