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The hiatal hernia (Or why you should stop worrying)


While I could post in the main thread about this, I'm instead going to make a fanpost because I deal with this ALL the time at my job and want to really clear it up. I debated whether this was really fanpost-worthy, but here goes.

Colby Rasmus has sat out two games with a stomach condition, probably gastritis (painful stomach lining inflammation), caused by a hiatal hernia. Hernia is the scary part, but this is the main thing I want to clear up. A herniation is any type of protrusion of a structure through the membrane that it should be anatomically confined inside. The scary hernias are sports hernias and herniated discs, both usually resulting from various types of strain and athletic activity (I could explain these further, but I'd rather just get to the point). Other hernias are just annoying, like the hiatal hernia (I think hemorrhoids might be a herniation as well).

At any rate, a hiatal hernia is an extremely common condition in which the top of your stomach begins to protrude through the diaphragm and into the thorax. 

Hiatalhernia_medium

via upload.wikimedia.org

This is almost always asymptomatic, present in many, many adults, and is treated through more fiber intake, and the use of antacids to control the heartburn that it can exacerbate (it promotes reflux because stomach contents can slow or briefly stop their progress above the diaphragm). Large herniations sometimes require surgery, but this is extremely, extremely rare (I've never actually seen one large enough to require surgery).

Gr1-midi_medium

via download.imaging.consult.com

They are usually an incedental finding on x-ray exams involving the drinking of contrast, and they look exactly like what they are. On the film above the stomach is the big lower blob, the esophagus is the blob that trails off the top of the image, and the hernia is the bit attached to the larger stomach and trapped above the diaphragm that you can see pinching the two. This film is of a bit more serious type of herniation, but you get the idea. You can also see them on normal chest films if there is enough air in the stomach.

In closing:

1. Do not worry. You might have a similar herniation and if you do there is a 90% chance you will never know about it.

2. Colby needs to eat fiber, and the reason eating late at night also causes him problems is that increasing the acid in his stomach and then laying down for several hours also causes reflux, which is made worse by the hernia.

3. Let's drink!



8 recs  |  Comment 24 comments

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Comments

Display:

In retort:

1) This is the Cardinals medical staff.

That is all.

Future Redbirds - tracking Cardinal prospects for Cardinal Nation

by azruavatar on Jun 30, 2009 3:14 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

That picture is misleading

A hiatal hernia won’t be a significant problem during Rasmus’ MLB career (unless it is huge and needs surgery to hold it down), but if he has resultant reflux, he should have that kept in check with meds and/or behavior modification from here on out.

There’s no excuse for him for him to be missing time with reflux from here out.

(BTW—There is a hiatal hernia there, labeled with ‘H’. The other “whiter” outpouching with arrows around it is something else—likely a paraesophageal hernia, which can potentially be a big problem and require surgery. So I hope these aren’t Rasmus’ films.)

by olddomination on Jun 30, 2009 4:49 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yes, totally true.

This was the best film I found online, but as you can imagine, only the very serious/very interesting ones get posted. I did mention that this was of a condition more serious than Rasmus has, but neglected to point out the specifics.

Decrease runs scored?
Maybe.

Decrease winning? Never seen that proven.
-SFTU

by hazel on Jul 1, 2009 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

i eat late at night all the time & i've never had this problem

and i’m outta shape & 10 years older than Colby. so unless he’s eating some seriously spicy food, i don’t understand why this is a problem for him.

It kind of sounds like he’s [Duncan] just running around like a puppy out there – full speed ahead in random directions. – BTown Birds Fan

by gdm426 on Jun 30, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Everyone is different?

"I usually don’t read other peoples sigs." -Cuttah

by Alxfritz on Jun 30, 2009 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

may God have mercy on your soul if your anything like me

It kind of sounds like he’s [Duncan] just running around like a puppy out there – full speed ahead in random directions. – BTown Birds Fan

by gdm426 on Jun 30, 2009 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

...and Learn to Love the Bomb?

Dr. Strangelove is one of my favorite movies, FTR. I was a history major and have considered going back and getting an M.A. AND Ph.D. Dr. Strangelove is a pitch-perfect satire of the “logic” and rhetoric of the early Cold War, at least as far as we can tell from the published policy papers and communique and such.

I apologize for hijacking this thread…I will now slink back to my nerdy home on Nerd Island, which is probably located in my mom’s basement.

VivaElBirdos...Scoring less, but more frequently since approximately 1903.

by redbirdnation8206 on Jun 30, 2009 6:04 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

rec'd for the great info

or maybe rec’d for #3…yeah , it was probably for #3

* sarcasm might be involved in this comment

by mattyfrommo on Jun 30, 2009 7:55 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

deal with this in your job

What does that make your job, if you do not mind answering?

"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum

by scoot on Jun 30, 2009 10:02 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

so he does

"I usually don’t read other peoples sigs." -Cuttah

by Alxfritz on Jun 30, 2009 11:18 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

judging by his knowledge

my guess would be he/she plays some kind of role in the health care industry

by prophetjohn on Jun 30, 2009 11:23 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

as do i

but, the healthcare industry is pretty vast.

"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum

by scoot on Jul 2, 2009 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm a line cook at a chili restaurant.

Okay no. I used to shoot X-rays.

Decrease runs scored?
Maybe.

Decrease winning? Never seen that proven.
-SFTU

by hazel on Jul 1, 2009 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

cool

im a physical therapist. . . well, i’ll be one less than a year from now.

"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum

by scoot on Jul 2, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Problem solved

The Tums factory is only a few blocks away from Busch. Send a ballboy down there for a dozen bottles. I would also like to volunteer to send my extra large bottle of flavored Rolaids to Colby. Now that Izzy is gone, I no longer have need of it.

born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red

by totalloser on Jul 1, 2009 6:06 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yeah that is nice, but...

now I need some Prozac because of this depressing offense.

"Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it." - Whitey Herzog

by Bring Back Tommy Herr! on Jul 1, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I sense the tide is changing

Even though we’ve been loosing lately, I think the offense is stirring. There are signs that folks are at least taking better at bats.

born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red

by totalloser on Jul 1, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

So if I understand correctly...

we need to make sure that we don’t feed Colby after midnight, or else he’ll turn into a Gremlin?

by Lost In NC on Jul 3, 2009 2:26 AM EDT reply actions   1 recs

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