The vagus nerve

Briefly about the anatomy and function of the nerve

Anatomically, the Vagus nerve is a long, traveling nerve that extends from the brain through the neck and into the chest and abdominal cavities. This nerve is unique in that it has connections to both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, which are responsible for regulating the body’s Rest and Digest response and the Fight or Flight response, respectively. These systems are collectively referred to as the ‘Autonomic Nervous System’.

Functionally, the vagus nerve regulates a variety of processes, including heart rate, breathing, digestion, immune response, and even vocal cord function. The autonomic nervous system can fine-tune the body’s functions using signals from both the parasympathetic (vagus nerve) and sympathetic nervous systems.

Why is the Vagus nerve important?

As mentioned above, the Vagus nerve has a unique connection to both the parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) and sympathetic nervous systems (Fight or Flight).

The vagus nerve consists mainly of parasympathetic nerve fibers, which, among other things, have the function of:

• Lower your heart rate.
• Lower the respiratory rate.
• Activate digestion.

Hence the nickname Rest and Digest. The vagus nerve works closely with the sympathetic nervous system, which is the body’s response system to activation, stress and danger – hence the name Fight and Flight.

Our body is constantly regulating and adapting to all external and internal inputs and outputs that we expose our body to on a daily basis. Too much or too little stimulation of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, respectively, can cause an imbalance in the body’s ability to adapt. This can, over time, result in unwanted compensations.

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Symptoms of Vagus Nerve Problems

Problems with the Vagus nerve can arise as a result of an imbalance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. This can lead to a wide range of symptoms, both physical, systemic, psychological and immunological.

Physical symptoms involving the Vagus nerve often include headaches, jaw pain, neck pain, pain between the shoulder blades, and numbness/tingling in the arm(s), as well as inflammation of the tendons.

Systemic and immunological symptoms include dysregulation of vagus nerve signals, which often results in gastrointestinal problems and decreased ability to heal inflammation.

Research shows that the vagus nerve also plays a central role in regulating emotions and behavior. The vagus nerve helps to neurologically regulate mood and stress response, which may mean that psychological and emotional problems can also involve the vagus nerve.

The symptoms above can occur in conjunction with each other, and there are also several other outcomes not covered here. The vagus nerve is also seen as a secondary symptom of other injuries and surgery.

How does osteopathy treat the vagus nerve?

There are many options within Osteopathy for treating the Vagus nerve. Through a thorough and holistic examination, it can be clarified which functions are involved in the individual. After that, both you and the therapist can use tools/measures in daily life to optimize the function.

To further promote function and relieve symptoms, a wide range of manual techniques can be used in the treatment. This may include; musculoskeletal techniques (joints, connective tissue, muscles, etc.), Visceral Osteopathy (manual treatment externally of the gastrointestinal system), Craniosacral therapy (relieve tension around cranial nerves, etc.) and nerve mobilization (increase the flexibility of the nerve and surrounding tissue).