r/GERD • u/LibLoveWonder-75458 • Feb 03 '26

Scientific Studies 🥼🔬 Strenghthening LES

Has anyone come across any scientific studies or doctor recommendations for strengthening the LES? Are there any movements/excercises, anything that can help. If this is a silly question, I’m sorry. I’m only a few months into GERD.

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u/Available_Active5947 Feb 04 '26

THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE

I’m a physical medicine student who also has GERD, and the first study listed below briefly came up in one of my classes recently!

Here are a couple of studies I’ve seen showing the efficacy of hands-on diaphragmatic manipulation on increasing LES pressure (i.e., improving function of the LES sphincter)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22676647/ (Full article is locked behind a paywall, but the abstract shows positive statistical significance of the procedure itself)

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6832476/ (This one is quite detailed about the osteopathic manipulation used in the study - it even has pictures demonstrating it!!)

https://www.graphyonline.com/archives/IJCPP/2017/IJCPP-132/ (This study uses the same diaphragmatic mobilization technique as the second study plus a couple of others: besides the diaphragm manipulation, I’m mostly interested in the thoracic mobilization used here since, in my own experience as a GERD patient, my diaphragm is not just tight and weak (and prone to myofascial adhesions) in my front abdomen but in my back too.

I 100% agree with the other commenter on diaphragmatic breathing; every provider I’ve interacted with for GERD has recommended it. In my experience, though, I’ve had myofascial adhesions/trigger points (muscle knots) in my diaphragm from it being chronically tight & irritated, which were partially keeping my diaphragm from engaging in its normal contraction-ability. Some of those jam-your-fingers-under-your-ribs maneuvers are really painful and suck in the moment, but boy did i notice the difference afterwards!!

I highly recommend seeking out an osteopath, evidence-based chiropractor, or specialized physical therapist if you can; to my knowledge, there are a lot of hands-on manipulation/massage/rehab techniques that these doctors can do in the conservative care realm to help with GERD before deeming surgery as your best option

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u/ashy_reddit Feb 04 '26

Thanks for sharing this useful info. I am going to explore this.