Augusta 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 is 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) Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic offers new studies regarding some less invasive potential treatments like vagal nerve stimulation and even spinal manipulation that may help calm the stomach and alleviate the upset for Augusta 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 disrupt quality of life. The metabolic feedback connection between the gut and brain have been defined and tied to the nervous system, particularly the vagal nerve that goes throughout the body. Regardless of what causes gastroparesis, most patients had 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 due to the physiological complexity of gastroparesis. (1) Augusta gastroparesis patients at Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic will like having some options that may help them with this condition.
TREATMENTS FOR GASTROPARESIS: VNS
Researchers stated 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 attempted 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 simulated the surgical cervical vagal nerve stimulation. (4) Stimulating vagal afferents with transcutaneous (through the skin) auricular (ear) vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) helped gastric frequency and better regulated digestion. To the researchers, this demonstrated that brain stimulation influenced gut function. (2) They are linked, 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 wrote that slow breathing normalized vagus nerve activity and decreased psychophysiological stimulation making it advantageous in behavioral medicine. (4) Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic offers that VNS may benefit Augusta chiropractic patients who experience gastroparesis and even chronic pain related to back pain and/or neck pain.
SPINAL MANIPULATION
Your Augusta 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 experience digestion and/or nausea issues after eating. Drugs are often prescribed. Non-drug treatments like stimulation to the external ear (an area the vagal nerve extends to), electrical stimulation, diet changes, pro/prebiotics, etc., also now incorporate acupuncture, yoga, and spinal manipulation. (5) That is our forte at Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic: spinal manipulation!
CONTACT Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. James Cox on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the vagus nerve, its influence on the nervous system, and how to blend its stimulation with the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in relieving pain.
Make your next Augusta chiropractic appointment with Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic. Bring your pain issues to us. We will work up a treatment plan to help!