Minster Spinal Manipulation and VNS May Help Gastroparesis (Stomach Issues)
Stomach pain and associated issues can upset more than the stomach. The body is full of 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 spreading 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) Minster Chiropractic Center offers new studies regarding some less invasive potential treatments like vagal nerve stimulation and even spinal manipulation that may help calm the stomach and relieve the upset for Minster stomach pain patients.
GASTROPARESIS
For those who suffer with gastroparesis, the symptoms may include any number of problems they’d like to not have. Researchers explained that any number of factors combined can trigger gastroparesis and disrupt quality of life. The metabolic feedback link between the gut and brain have been explained and tied to the nervous system, particularly the vagal nerve that travels throughout the body. No matter what triggers gastroparesis, most patients exhibited problems with the brain-gut innervation by means of the vagus nerve and/or intestinal nervous system. (2,3) Medical treatment so far has been limited in its effect due to the physiological complexity of gastroparesis. (1) Minster gastroparesis patients at Minster Chiropractic Center will like having some options for helping them with this condition.
TREATMENTS FOR GASTROPARESIS: VNS
Researchers noted that medical therapy has been reduced 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 attempted with some success. New, non-invasive approaches included using a self-administered vagal nerve stimulator that reported improved gastric emptying for some. (1) Such a stimulator simulated 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 had influence on gut function. (2) They are connected, the brain and the gut! Using slow breathing with taVNS showed promise in treating anxiety, chronic pain, depressive disorders, insomnia, and cardiovascular diseases, too. Researchers wrote that slow breathing normalized vagus nerve activity and decreased psychophysiological stimulation making it of help in behavioral medicine. (4) Minster Chiropractic Center offers that VNS may interest Minster chiropractic patients who experience gastroparesis and even chronic pain related to back pain and/or neck pain.
SPINAL MANIPULATION
Your Minster chiropractor wants to use the chiropractic skills and treatments to assist gastroparesis sufferers, too! And they come in all ages – adults and kids. Pediatric functional abdominal disorders involved struggles with digestion issues. Children with functional abdominal disorders experience digestion and/or nausea issues after eating. Drugs are often prescribed. Non-drug treatments like stimulation to the external ear (a spot the vagal nerve reaches), electrical stimulation, diet changes, pro/prebiotics, etc., also now incorporate acupuncture, yoga, and spinal manipulation. (5) That’s our forte at Minster Chiropractic Center: spinal manipulation!
CONTACT Minster Chiropractic Center
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he explains the vagus nerve, its impact on the nervous system, and how to mix its stimulation with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in relieving pain.
Make your next Minster chiropractic appointment with Minster Chiropractic Center. Bring your pain issues to us. We’ll design a treatment plan to help!