If you’ve ever experienced that irritating burning sensation rising from the pit of your stomach and setting your chest on fire, then you know we are talking about acid reflux. It’s one of the most annoying digestive problems out there and a lot of us have to deal with it. That heartburn might be something we’ve experienced but we just didn’t know what was happening. To keep things simple and plain, it’s basically when acid from your stomach travels up your throat causing a whole lot of discomfort. You probably know it as heartburn. While it may seem like a small issue, constant acid reflux isn’t just uncomfortable; it can mess with our everyday life.
But thankfully, we’ve found that keeping active with specific fitness activities can actually help reduce acid reflux significantly or take it away totally. When we say fitness activities, please keep in mind that we’re talking about low impact exercises. You can put down the weights.
Here are five activities that we think may be what we need to reduce that acid reflux.
1. Yoga: With all its stretching, twisting, and bending, yoga works wonders on our body’s digestion system, relieving it of stress. Yoga positions like the forward bend pose, or Half Spinal Twist, have been beneficial to us in enhancing the body’s natural process of breaking down food. As a result, there’s less chance of excess acid being produced.
2. Low-Impact Aerobics: While intense workouts would increase acid reflux symptoms, low-impact aerobics would reduce it. So exercises like stationary cycling, swimming can actually soothe them. We actually love that we can manage our weight while reducing pressure on the stomach, and, as a result, keeping acid reflux away.
3. Walking: Has anyone told you to take a walk after eating a large meal? Well, we’re glad to be your first because it’s good advice. Walking promotes movement in your gastrointestinal tract, which can help get that stomach acid where it needs to be: in your stomach, not your throat.
4. Tai Chi: This is similar to yoga. Tai Chi offers an effective way to control acid reflux. This is a bit new to us but we encourage it because of its mindfulness. Because it has to do with controlled breathing and slow gentle movements, it also promotes healthy eating habits. The goal is simply to get us to eat slower. One of the causes of acid reflux is eating too fast. So, we might want to learn a few things from the friends we’re constantly teasing for eating so slow. They’re on to something here!
5. Pilates: The girls will love this one. Pilates is a gentle form of exercise which focuses on strengthening our core, including your stomach muscles. So, when our abdominal muscles are strengthened, it can lead to less acid reflux. They keep stomach acid in place.
Please note that these exercises are not to be done immediately after eating. We should make them as part of our routines. That’s when we’d see the difference. Consistency is key.
So, you can choose an activity that suits you best and start with that. But, of course, do check with your healthcare provider before you make any drastic changes to your routine, to make sure they’re right for you.
We hope that this information helps you and if you’re still not feeling up to it, just take an antacid. We tried.
