Training with Esophagitis

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey Dr. Feigenbaum & Dr. Baraki,

I recently had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and was diagnosed with esophagitis, gastritis without bleeding, epigastric pain, and noninfective gastroenteritis and colitis. My gastroenterologist prescribed 40 mg of Prilosec daily for 8 weeks and told me to avoid foods that could cause heartburn like coffee, etc. As far as training goes, are there any modifications I should make? The concern I have is that heavy squats and deadlifts with a belt could cause acid from my stomach to splash into my esophagus, causing increased inflammation. Is this a valid concern or am I worrying over nothing? Are there any training changes I should make or should I continue as usual? I’m a 25 year old male, around 185 lbs. As far as training history goes I started training last January with an LP, moved on to Texas method for a bit, then the bridge, bridge 2.0, and made it 4 weeks into the 3 day hypertrophy template when I started to have issues with my stomach and some hip flexor pain. Due to all of this I stopped training for about a month. Now I want to get back into it and start with the bridge to ease my way back into training after my lay off. Given my diagnoses would taking up the bridge 3.0 be a safe bet? Or should I modify the program in some way?

Thanks,
Jack

2

SJ,

I don’t know if you’re worrying over nothing depending on what the rest of the clinical picture looks like, but from a training perspective I don’t think that I would strongly recommend against using a belt or a particular exercise, as to the best of my knowledge even healthy folks can get reflux when they exercise (all types).

I would wonder if there were any particular exercises, supportive gear, rep and intensity ranges, etc. that exacerbated your symptoms, but barring anything on that front- I couldn’t make a strong recommendation against any exercise.

The Bridge would likely be fine, though I cannot directly recommend that to you.

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