On Healthy Living

In medicine, the word “hernia” means “something is not where it is supposed to be.” A hiatal hernia — sometimes called a diaphragmatic hernia — is movement of the stomach into the chest via a hiatus (a hole) in the diaphragm. Anatomically, the diaphragm muscle is between the stomach and the chest. The hiatus is the opening in the diaphragm where the esophagus or food pipe joins the stomach. A hiatal hernia, then, occurs when the stomach moves into the chest via the diaphragm. There are two types of hiatal hernias: a sliding hernia is when the stomach slides up into the chest and back down; a fixed hernia is when the stomach slides up into the chest and stays there. Both can be quite painful conditions, although some minor hiatal hernias can cause mild to no pain.