Does anyone know about the exercise and GERD connection?

If your LES is weak the acid is sloshing up into your esophagus.

dencha, what were your symptoms? I started with the reflux/burping and nausea. I did eat breakfast, waited about an hour so I thought I was good. What surgery did you have?

Sounds like you have been through a lot! Thanks for the response and information, it is much appreciated.

I had that similar experience prior to surgery. I am a group fitness instructor at a a gym. All the hopping around and GERD are not a good combination. I would have reflux while instructing in the microphone. So embarrassing!!! You should be careful with reflux and exercise. I am just about convinvced that having reflux during heavy exercise can cause aspiration of the refluxed liquid. There does seem to be a connection between asthma and GERD. I was diagnosed with "exercise induced asthma" just this year. Strange since I have never had asthma and my lungs are in great shape!

Tinlou,
I helped me a great deal! I was coughing for 3 years before the doctors decided it was acid getting into my lungs. No coughing now except when I get near an irritant.

Thanks Joy and newly..btw did either of you experience burning throat from reflux? A sudden symptom for me..ugh!

My doctor wanted to give me nexium but for some reason my insurance doesn't cover it and it is really expensive. I have been taking otc zegerid and it helps with the heartburn but now my throat has started burning. I don't know how to tell if it's from Gerd or just a throat infection of some sort. Gosh GERD is crazy with so many symptoms that relate back to it that it is hard to keep up sometimes.

Oh sorry. Just realized that Zegerid is a PPI :-(

If you've got throat burning you need to get a stronger med.
Nexium helped me for 7 years until the coughing started.

Hi Tinlou,

I think exercise is very important for controlling GERD, but you have to do it in the right way.

First thing to consider is you want to exercise when your stomach does not have food in it. Best times I've found are right after getting out of bed in the morning, or right before dinner.

Second thing is the type of exercise. You should avoid bouncy types of exercise where your whole body is in motion, like running or step aerobics. The best cardio exercise I've found is riding a stationary bike since it does not shake the stomach. Other good exercises are weightlifting where your body is kept vertical or inclined. You never want to do an exercise where you bend over or lie flat on your back. Some people say you should avoid abdominal exercises, but if your stomach is empty I think they are usually okay if used in moderation and done in a sitting position.

It's also important to stay hydrated, especially if you sweat a lot during the exercise. I usually drink a half a glass of water before exercising, and then drink a little more during the exercise. This will dilute any acid in your stomach during exercise, so that it won't do much damage if it sloshes out a little. Also it will keep your digestive system working smoothly since if you sweat and don't drink water, you can easily get constipated, and that won't help the GERD situation. One of the big benefits for GERD of exercising is that it energizes your digestive track to keep food moving quickly through it, so the last thing you want to do is get constipated or that destroys the benefit.

But you need to be careful not to drink too much or you'll fill up the stomach and cause acid to leak out. You kind of need to experiment to find the amount of water that works for you. Good luck and keep that exercise going!

I'm off all anti-acids because of my surgery last December. :)