Spinal Misalignment and the Brain-stem

As a chiropractor, I always admire how the body will respond with cervical spine, or neck, adjustments. The reason for this, is that how a person responds will change with each individual. If there is a misalignment that is directly or indirectly impinging a nerve that exits the brainstem, we can have alleviate whole body symptoms when it is corrected with a specific chiropractic adjustment. We have ten cranial nerves that exit the brainstem, and while it would be a joy to talk about each, this blog post will focus on the Vagus nerve, and how it can easily be affected by spinal misalignments in the neck.

The Vagus Nerve

While the brainstem is the central control system for important functions in the body, such as respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure, the Vagus Nerve exits the brainstem and extends its reach to the throat, tongue, digestive organs, heart, liver, spleen, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, and reproductive organs. Needless to say, if there is a misalignment in the spine that creates tension at the brainstem or at various levels of the spinal cord, our nervous system, including the Vagus Nerve, can be impaired. This will have the potential to impair many normal functions within our body. Getting chiropractic adjustments will not only relieve this pressure off the nervous system by correcting misalignments in the spine, but it helps set the body up to function optimally.

A few Conditions that can result from Vagus Nerve Impingement:

• Anxiety and Depression

• Tinnitus

• Dysphagia and Dysarthria

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome

• Acid Reflux (GERD), Heartburn

The few symptoms above are not common reasons why people seek chiropractic care. I love stimulating the discussion of chiropractic benefits when it comes to looking at how the body functions, because how it functions is the answer to how it will heal, whether it is a disc issue, a pulled muscle, or vagal nerve impairment. When we look past the pain symptoms that drive most people to chiropractic, we begin to understand our bodies more, and how structure equates function.

Those who seek chiropractic care are better equipped to deal with the common stresses that put our nervous system on edge or on overdrive. Poor posture alone is causing an increase of tension at the base of our skull and at our brainstem, and is a driving cause for spinal misalignments, compensatory muscular patterns, high blood pressure, poor digestion, headaches, spasms, and inflammatory bowel conditions.

I hope the Vagus Nerve discussion helps you to understand that chiropractic adjustments, especially at the level of the upper neck near the brainstem, can have a direct impact on how your body is functioning as a whole.

Dr. Katherine McCarty, D.C.