Over the years I have heard many narratives about my client’s neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and fascial symptoms that impact their everyday lives. But for many, I have also heard their narratives about gut and digestive issues. The main question they asked, “Could their structural issues contribute to their gut and digestive issues?” The answer is emphatically yes! In this article, I will try to explain why.
I can sum up this connection between structural, gut, and digestive issues with the “vagus nerve.” The vagus nerve is one of the longest and most important nerves in the body outside of the sciatic nerve. Whereas the sciatic nerve is part of your peripheral nervous system, the vagus nerve is part of your central nervous system (CNS) that helps control a number of crucial functions important to your overall health and wellbeing.
In short, it is the connection between your brain and gut and can affect everything from your mood and stress levels to your digestion, heart rate, and even your body’s immune response. Hopefully I got your attention with “immune response” now that we are experiencing this pandemic of COVID-19 because the vagus nerve plays a major role in inflammation. If it does not have its “ideal tone’, your immune response could be compensated.
The vagus nerve sends sensory information to your brain about what you see, smell, taste, and hear and controls certain motor functions throughout your body. It is the longest of your body’s 12 cranial nerves which arise directly from your brain and pass through separate apertures in the skull down to your gut. It is referred to as cranial nerve X or 10 and you have a right and left vagus nerve, but both are often talked about as one. The word “vagus” in Latin means wandering which is an apt name given that the vagus nerve wanders through your body from the brainstem to your heart, lungs, stomach and digestive tract, liver, kidneys, and spleen.
As mentioned, it is part of your CNS and that part known as the “parasympathetic nervous system”, which is referred to as part of the autonomic nervous system. In simple terms, the vagus nerve is responsible for the rest-and-digest response since the parasympathetic nervous system is correlated with relaxation and reduced stress levels.
The vagus nerve communicates with various organs of your body via motor and sensory impulses. It is constantly like I-40 and I-25 in Albuquerque during rush hour sending signals up and down its length telling your brain when you’re hungry or full, signal your stomach to start the digestive process or peristalsis, slow down your heart rate, and even activate your immune system’s inflammatory stress response to name just a few of its crucial functions.
The vagus nerve is also to be known to be intimately involved within the microbiome-gut-brain axis, that allows microbes in your gut to directly communicate with the brain giving you that “gut feeling.”But the vagus nerve doesn’t stop there. It affects your brain and mood and is involved in making and storing memories. It also is essential for social bonding and human connection. When one talks about the mind-body connection, they’re specifically talking about the vagus nerve’s influence on their physical and mental health and how they are interconnected or integrated. In fact, the vagus nerve has been shown to be linked to major psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety because of its relation to gut bacteria and one’s mood.
A strong, healthy tone of the vagus nerve helps manage your body’s response to stress by regulating your heart and respiratory rates which also influence your mood and anxiety. In fact with recent studies, there is indication that by improving the tone of the vagus nerve it may have a positive effect on conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Are you starting to get the importance of this nerve?
But there is even more that the vagus nerve does. It helps you see, hear, and talk and is essential in human interaction. In fact, it’s the foundation of a theory called the “social engagement system.” Part of this theory relates to our ability to feel calm and engaged in non-threatening eye contact and to filter out background noise in order to allow you to tune in to other people’s voices. It also affects the tone of your facial and laryngeal muscles or voice box affecting your expressions and the tone of your voice. Do you think the overuse of cell phones has an affect on the tone of your vagus nerve?
However, one of its most crucial functions is controlling your heart rate via electrical impulses and a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter which is responsible for slowing your heart rate is released by the vagus nerve which also allows your lungs to breathe. In fact, the vagus nerve has an affect on your blood pressure and low vagal tone could be a possible cause of hypertension.
The list goes on with its crucial functions playing a major role in your digestion of food. It is responsible to get the muscles moving in your stomach and increases its acidity and gut flow to promote a healthy digestive process. In addition, when you feel full and satisfied after eating a meal, activation of your vagus nerve is partly responsible.
If all that I have mentioned is not enough, the vagus nerve plays important roles in the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, kidneys, and spleen helping balance blood glucose levels, release bile in the gallbladder, and even aids in the secretion of sodium from the kidneys.
Damage or dysfunction of the vagus nerve can trigger a variety of symptoms which include changes in heart rate and blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). More importantly, it is a possible precursor to many chronic diseases because its anti-inflammatory effects throughout your body. Most of these symptoms are found to be due to an under active vagal nerve or low vagal tone.
From a structural standpoint, one possible cause for low vagal tone is poor alignment of the atlas or C1. Remember, this cervical vertebra plays the primary role in spinal alignment maintaining musculoskeletal and fascial balance and keeping your structure vertical against gravity and resultant ground reaction forces. The second cervical vertebra is called the axis and it reacts to the position and motion of the atlas.
So why is this important to the health and function of the vagus nerve? At this level of the neck, the upper cervical spine, the vagus nerve runs along the carotid artery and internal jugular vein directly in front of the atlas. It then routes behind the sternocleidomastoid and in front of the scalene muscles. Therefore, if the atlas is not in good, ideal alignment the vagus nerve and its tone is affected and possibly generating the symptoms we have mentioned for low vagal tone.
A malfunction located in this area might also have what seems as cascading effects or what seems to be a “domino” effect on your entire musculoskeletal and fascial systems, the circulatory system, and the nervous system creating imbalances and dysfunctions throughout your body. These malfunctions over time may turn into serious health problems because your body is no longer able to function the way it could and should. Your quality of life could be seriously compromised even though there is no clear-cut medical diagnosis.
When the tone of the vagus nerve is compromised by the alignment of atlas and axis, a series of symptoms can occur such as: nausea, heartburn, vertigo, redness of face, tachycardia or rapid heart rate, rigidity of neck, cervical pain, headache, Meniere’s syndrome of the middle ear, difficulty in swallowing, sense of “lump in the throat”, excessive sweating, insomnia, mainly cold hands and feet, irregular heart beat, chronic constipation, unjustified diarrhea, thyroid problems, unilateral numbness or tingling of the scalp, and even sudden unexplained fainting known as vasovagal syncope.
Assuming an individual has low vagal tone caused by the poor and malalignment of the atlas and axis, “What can be done?” There is a medical procedure being tried in Western medicine that implants an electrical stimulator on the nerve to affect its tone. Since I am an advocate for non-invasive treatment whenever possible, I suggest seeking out a chiropractor that specializes in “orthogonal” treatment, a physical, massage, or craniosacral therapist that is aware of a correlation between the vagus nerve and the upper cervical spine, and an acupuncturist first.
The “Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic Technique” is an upper cervical spine treatment that was created in 1979 which uses a percussion instrument to adjust the atlas based on specific x-rays that find the atlas to be out of alignment. It is unlike other traditional chiropractic techniques and is found to be very subtle and gentle. In Albuquerque, I have worked closely over the years with Francesca Russo, D.C. Her office is at 2730 San Pedro Dr., N.E., Suite A and her office phone number is 505-881-0650.
When trying to find a therapist or acupuncturist, they should have knowledge of the suboccipital muscles including the obliquus capitis superior/inferior, rectus capitis posterior major/minor, and rectus capitis lateralis/anterior. These muscles attach from the occiput to either the atlas or axis or just from the atlas to axis. Also, the sternocleidmastoid and scalene muscles. By affecting the tone of these muscles, the position and motion of the atlas and axis are affected indirectly that can affect vagal tone. They should also be aware of the integration between the neck, pelvic girdle, and hip muscles such as the iliacus and psoas major/minor.
But there are also many other ways you can affect the tone of the vagus nerve on your own. Exposing yourself to cold temperatures like splashing cold water on your face or to the more extreme by taking a cold shower can activate and increase the tone of the vagus nerve. Breathing exercises impact its tone. Deep and slow breathing has been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve, improve heart rate variability (HRV), and induce a sense of calmness. I have found alternate nostril breathing to help and will enclose how to do this at the end of this article.
Yoga, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Chih, and Qi Gong have been shown to stimulate the vagus nerve and have an affect on its tone and stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system. Singing, chanting, humming, and gargling affects the muscles at the back of your throat which the vagus nerve innervates so is found to increase HRV. Singing in unison, like in a choir, is found to have a greater effect. Mediation and positive social connections can increase vagal tone and positive emotions. Even something as simple as laughter can make anyone feel good and increase their HRV and mood.
Mild exercise can influence the vagus nerve to stimulate gastric motility of the gut and gut flow in processing what you eat. As already mentioned, acupuncture and massage by applying pressure to certain areas has been shown to increase vagal tone. Foot reflexology can also activate the vagus nerve as well as acupuncture increasing HRV and lowering blood pressure.
Probiotics and feeding the “good” gut bacteria may be beneficial for both your brain and gut by means of the vagus nerve. Newer research is starting to support this theory, especially when it comes to anxiety and depression. Remember the vagus nerve serves as a conduit in communicating signals between the gut and brain. The omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in fish, have been linked with an increase in HRV and activity of the vagus nerve. But before you do anything on your own, check with your primary care doctor.
Finally, I have found that using CBD helps with the tone of the vagus nerve. I have been using the roll on behind my ears and my abdomen that seems to affect the vagal nerve and increase its tone. I have CV Science CBD products available at the clinic.
So there you have it! All I know about this very important cranial nerve that impacts your gut health, mood, and more importantly your overall health and wellbeing. In this article, I mentioned “heart rate variability” or HRV numerous times, a topic I will take up next time. Below is the “alternate breathing exercise” I promised. Until then, wear your mask, social distance, wash your hands, and most of all “be well!”
•”Alternate Breathing Technique”
- Chose a comfortable seated position. Make sure feet are on the ground and straight ahead. Shoulder and pelvic girdles straight ahead. Head and face straight ahead with chin parallel with the ground so neck is in a neutral position. Feel both “SITS” bones of pelvic girdle equally.
- Lift up right hand toward nose, pressing first and middle fingers down toward the palm and leaving the other fingers extended.
- After an exhalation, use the right thumb to gently close the right nostril.
- Inhale through the left nostril and then close the left nostril with the right pinky and ring fingers.
- Release the thumb and exhale out through the right nostril.
- Inhale through the right nostril and then close this nostril.
- Release fingers to open the left nostril and exhale through this side.
- This completes one cycle.
- Continue this breathing pattern for three to five minutes.
- Finish a session with an exhalation on the left side.