Vancouver Spinal Manipulation and VNS May Help Gastroparesis (Stomach Issues)
Stomach pain and related issues can upset more than the stomach. The body is filled with nerves from the head to the toes, and the stomach is at the center of it all! The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves extending from the brainstem to the abdomen. What’s in the middle of the abdomen? The stomach! (Talk about a brain-gut connection!) Gastroparesis sufferers’ days are disturbed by nausea, pain, delayed stomach emptying, and even vomiting. (1) Vancouver Disc Centers offers new studies regarding some less invasive potential treatments like vagal nerve stimulation and even spinal manipulation that may help calm the stomach and ease the upset for Vancouver stomach pain patients.
GASTROPARESIS
For those who experience gastroparesis, the symptoms may consist of a variety of problems they would like to not have. Researchers explained that any number of factors combined can trigger gastroparesis and impact quality of life. The metabolic feedback link between the gut and brain have been explained and attached to the nervous system, particularly the vagal nerve that extends throughout the body. No matter what causes gastroparesis, most patients experienced problems with the brain-gut innervation via the vagus nerve and/or intestinal nervous system. (2,3) Medical treatment thus far has been limited in its effect because of the physiological complexity of gastroparesis. (1) Vancouver gastroparesis patients at Vancouver Disc Centers will like having some options for helping them with this condition.
TREATMENTS FOR GASTROPARESIS: VNS
Researchers noted that medical therapy has been limited in its ability to help. Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) was said to be promising though. More invasive surgical stimulation of the vagus nerve has been tried with some success. New, non-invasive methods incorporated the use of a self-administered vagal nerve stimulator that reported improved gastric emptying for some. (1) Such a stimulator mimicked the surgical cervical vagal nerve stimulation. (4) Stimulating vagal afferents with transcutaneous (through the skin) auricular (ear) vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) enhanced gastric frequency and controlled digestion. To the researchers, this demonstrated that brain stimulation influenced gut function. (2) They are connected, the brain and the gut! Adding slow breathing to taVNS showed promise in addressing anxiety, chronic pain, depressive disorders, insomnia, and cardiovascular diseases, too. Researchers explained that slow breathing normalized vagus nerve activity and decreased psychophysiological stimulation making it advantageous in behavioral medicine. (4) Vancouver Disc Centers offers that VNS may benefit Vancouver chiropractic patients who have gastroparesis and even chronic pain related to back pain and/or neck pain.
SPINAL MANIPULATION
Your Vancouver chiropractor wants to use the chiropractic skills and treatments to help gastroparesis sufferers, too! And they come in all ages – adults and kids. Pediatric functional abdominal disorders involved problems with digestion issues. Children with functional abdominal disorders have digestion and/or nausea issues after eating. Drugs are often given. Non-drug treatments like stimulation to the external ear (an area the vagal nerve reaches), electrical stimulation, diet changes, pro/prebiotics, etc., also now incorporate acupuncture, yoga, and spinal manipulation. (5) That is our experienced skill at Vancouver Disc Centers: spinal manipulation!
CONTACT Vancouver Disc Centers
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the vagus nerve, its impact on the nervous system, and how to combine its stimulation with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in relieving pain.
Schedule your next Vancouver chiropractic appointment with Vancouver Disc Centers. Bring your pain issues to us. We will work up a treatment plan to help!