My 17-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a small hiatal hernia. In her physical education class, she does ab crunches and lifts weights. Will this aggravate her hernia?

Mary

I assume the hiatal hernia was diagnosed by X-ray, either a barium swallow procedure or an upper GI series. Even in people your daughter's age, hiatal hernias are fairly common findings.

Hiatal hernias are not like other kinds of hernias (inguinal or groin hernias), in which a displaced part of the intestine can be choked off, causing severe compilations. Although a hiatal hernia means that a small portion of the stomach moves back and forth across the diaphragm (breathing muscle), it usually does so freely and causes no problems.

To many experts, this condition is an incidental finding and seldom a cause for any concern. Your daughter should exercise freely without worry.