By Michele S Jang, PT
No, not Las Vegas. I’m talking about the Vagus nerve.
The Vagus nerve originates in your brain, closely behind your ear, and travels down your neck and innervates a number of organs including your stomach, intestines, spleen, lung, heart, and kidneys. It acts as a communicator between your brain and organs and is an important part of the parasympathetic nervous system which dampens the “fight, flight or freeze” stress response. There was a very interesting article I read about the Vagus nerve in which an implant was surgically placed in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. The implant could be activated to stimulate the Vagus nerve and when it did so, the Vagus nerve was able to turn off mechanisms in our body that cause inflammation. In the article, a woman who was debilitated by her rheumatoid arthritis was able to return to physical activity.
This study demonstrates how regulation of this fascinating nerve can impact your health. Previously, I’ve written about how the Vagus nerve becomes agitated when someone is rear-ended. This is because the tissues of the neck, including the Vagus nerves, are strained by the forceful flexion and extension motion called whiplash. I would argue that any injury and even poor alignment of the cervical vertebra and posture could contribute to irritation and inflammation of the Vagus nerve and impair the nerve’s function.
Some dysfunctions of the Vagus nerve include: difficulty swallowing, digestion issues, and even irritability. Any organ system or tissue innervated by the Vagus nerve can be adversely affected if this nerve’s pathway is impeded. This is how physical therapy can help. Physical therapy can help clear the Vagus nerve pathway compromised by poor posture especially cervical misalignment. Using hands-on techniques, one can follow the nerve’s path, relieve restrictions including those influenced by muscle and fascial restrictions, until vagal motility is restored. With the pathway clear, the Vagus nerve can then innervate your organs appropriately.
In addition to manual techniques to free up the Vagus nerve, education and exercises to improve posture and alignment are essential as well so that someone can fully recover from injury.
Michele S Jang, PT is a physical therapist who likes to look outside the box. She has been a physical therapist for over 21 years and has extensive training in manual therapy or the use of hands to help rehabilitate the body. Michele has been an instructor both in the United States and abroad. She offers Free Consults on Tuesday afternoons. Michele also has a team of therapists at Spirit Winds who offer an array of expertise on exercise, fall prevention, foot and shoe assessments, body mechanics and proper breathing technique to increase awareness and healing. Michele can be reached at 805 543-5100 or [email protected].
