Acid Reflux Cause

What causes acid reflux? A simplistic answer to this question is to say that the acid reflux cause is acid backing up into the esophagus. But that's no more than repeating the definition since acid reflux refers to acid from the stomach backing up into the esophagus.

What prevents that from happening normally? What goes wrong that lets reflux happen in people who suffer from heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease?

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When we swallow, a coordinated muscular contraction moves the food from the back of our throat to our stomach. The esophagus is essentially a muscular tube. At the very end of the esophagus, just before the stomach, there's an inch or so where the muscular tone normally is quite high. That is, the muscle is more or less in a constantly contracted state.

That area is called the lower esophageal sphincter.

When things are working normally, that sphincter relaxes when we swallow to let food enter the stomach. Then it contracts again to prevent the stomach content from backing up into the esophagus.

Anything that interferes with the function of this muscular band can become a cause of acid reflux.

A hiatal hernia is when some of the stomach slice of to the diaphragm into the chest. When this happens, it often interferes with the function of the lower esophageal center. If it does then it can lead to acid reflux.

It's important to keep in mind that a hiatal hernia doesn't always lead to a problem with the sphincter. Someone with a hiatal hernia doesn't always have reflux.

Sometimes the pressure in the stomach can increase to the point where it's too much for the muscular sphincter to contain. This is why we are more likely to be troubled with heartburn if we overeat and why eating small meals is one part of the treatment of acid reflux.

Being overweight puts more pressure on the stomach, so it's another cause that might lead to acid reflux.

Of course, some people just naturally have a weaker sphincter and are more prone to reflux problems.

Although it's not a direct cause of acid reflux, diet does make a difference. Anyone with heartburn has probably noticed that some foods are more likely to bother them than others. This has to do both with how irritating the foods are to the esophageal lining and also the effect they have on stimulating gastric secretions.

So yes, the acid reflux cause is acid backing up into the esophagus, but I hope the information here has made the situation clearer than that simple statement did.

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