Vagus nerve stimulation: doctor named home ways to alleviate the condition

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Medical Director of Medical On Group (Medscan Group of Companies)

“The vagus nerve is unique in its function, its extent in the body and its comprehensive influence on the body.”

Indholdsfortegnelse

What is the vagus nerve

The vagus nerve is the longest and most branched cranial nerve in the body, performing both motor and sensory functions. It begins in our brain and extends throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The vagus nerve controls all internal organs.

The vagus nerve originates in the medulla oblongata. Another of its unique features – it contains several types of nerve fibers: motor, sensory, autonomic, which determines its unique variety of functions.

Structure of the vagus nerve

Taking into account the peculiarities of the structure, doctors conditionally distinguish in the vagus nerve four departments.

The first department is the head. From it, the sensitive branches of the vagus nerve go to the dura mater and the outer ear.
The second department – cervical, in this department, the vagus nerve is part of the neurovascular bundle and further branches into cardiac, laryngeal and other branches, which provides innervation (that is, supplying organs and tissues with nerves) vocal cords, palate, pharynx, root of the tongue, thyroid gland and other tissues.
The third department is the thoracic. It forms the most important nerve plexuses: esophageal, cardiac and pulmonary.
The fourth section of the vagus nerve is the abdominal nerve. Its fibers extend to the stomach, liver and pancreas, spleen, intestines and are responsible for the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract.

Functions of the vagus nerve

This nerve is a sensory network that tells the brain what’s going on in our organs, especially the digestive tract, lungs and heart, spleen, liver and kidneys. And that’s not to mention a number of other nerves that are involved in many processes, from conversation to eye contact, facial expressions, and even your ability to tune into other people’s voices.

The vagus nerve has many functions:

sensory – supplies nerve fibers to the skin of the external auditory canal and the inner surfaces of the larynx and pharynx, and provides visceral or pain sensitivity to the heart and abdominal organs;
special sensory – provides taste sensation in the epiglottis and root of the tongue;
motor – provides motor innervation (nerve supply to organs and tissues) to most muscles of the pharynx, soft palate and larynx;
parasympathetic – supplies nerve fibers to the smooth muscles of the trachea, bronchi and gastrointestinal tract and regulates the heart rhythm; its cardiac branches slow down the heart rate: bronchial – narrows the bronchi; esophageal – controls the involuntary work of the muscles of the esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, pancreas and small intestine, stimulating peristalsis and gastrointestinal secretion.

In fact, the vagus nerve provides innervation of the pharynx, larynx, all organs of the neck, thorax and abdomen. The only exception is the pelvic organs. This nerve is able to slow down the heart, participates in the regulation of our blood pressure and respiratory rate, affects the secretory function of the entire gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms of vagus nerve damage

Given such a wide range of multidirectional functions of the vagus nerve on the body, it is not hard to imagine that if it is damaged, there will be a variety of health problems, including life-threatening ones.

Thus, if the motor fibers of the vagus nerve are damaged, there will be a violation of swallowing, breathing, the formation of sounds in the process of speech, articulation will be disturbed. If the sensory fibers are affected, a person will have painful sensations, so-called neuralgia, or, in other words, pain that appears in different parts of the body.

Also, malfunction of the vagus nerve can lead to impaired consciousness, seizures, epilepsy and even cardiac arrest, causing death.

Conditions associated with vagus nerve dysfunction

Because the vagus nerve regulates hormones, fertility, digestion, kidney function, blood sugar levels, hunger and more, it can also contribute to many physical conditions:

heart rhythm irregularities;
changes in blood pressure;
heart disease;
IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) formation;
digestive problems such as heartburn, nausea, diarrhea and constipation;
poor immune system function;
chronic inflammation;
chronic fatigue;
gastroparesis or delayed gastric emptying;
chronic headaches and migraines.

Methods of vagus nerve stimulation

There are different methods of vagus nerve stimulation.

Cold

This is the first and simplest method of vagus nerve stimulation. Thus, washing the house with cold water, cold showers or compresses with ice in the neck and neck area cause active stimulation of the vagus nerve.

Tempering procedures also have a positive effect on the body. They lead to the release of a number of specific neurotransmitters that have a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract, brain activity and in general on the work of the entire nervous system.

Singing

Surprisingly, in observing singers, it has been found to have a beneficial effect on important health parameters such as heart rate variability (i.e. the time difference between beats) and breathing.

Physical activity

Exercise in sports, yoga, breathing exercises, and regular courses of massage safely influence and stimulate the vagus nerve.

Interval fasting

Interval fasting, which includes alternating periods of eating and fasting, is now very popular. Such a dietary regimen also has a positive effect on the vagus nerve. It has been found that such long intervals between meals harmonize the functioning of the vagus nerve.

Other methods

In some complex cases, more radical methods of vagus nerve stimulation are needed, but this is only possible in a medical facility and by doctor’s prescription. These include percutaneous electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve and VNS therapy (electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve).