Dopps Chiropractic

Vagus Nerve Stimulation. What’s the truth? The Vagus Nerve (Cranial Nerve 10) is an interesting nerve. It completely bypasses the spine, as it comes from the base of the skull, through the neck, and then through the thoracic and abdominal cavities. When you swallow, this is done voluntarily. When food gets to the back of the throat, the Vagus Nerve takes over. It controls a large part of digestion and heart rate. So what is Vagus Nerve Stimulation? There is a lot of talk about it right now. Is it legit? Yes, and No.

In the neck, the Vagus Nerve is in a sheath (like a tube) with the carotid artery and jugular vein. This is called the Carotid Sheath and it’s about 2 inches deep into the neck. I access this area when I need to raise the carotid artery and jugular vein. The sheath is a fairly tight compartment and the Vagus Nerve is typically tightly bound to the side of the Vagus Nerve. It has to be dissected from the artery with surgical instruments.

Have you noticed that your stomach gets upset when you get nervous? Some doctorates in anatomy and physiology have stated that when your blood pressure increases through nervousness, the Vagus Nerve gets an increase of pressure against it within the carotid sheath, causing stimulation to the nerve and therefore over activity of the digestive tract.

What does this mean? The Vagus Nerve can be directly stimulated by pressures within the sheath. Lowering this pressure would have to come from controlling your mindset. You may increase activity with increased pressure and heart rate. The other method of stimulating the Vagus Nerve would be with direct contact by a surgically implanted electrode. This is done for various medical conditions.

With this said, there is a huge market right now of externally worn stimulators. Unfortunately, these just aren’t going to cut it. Why? Well, the depth of the nerve is more than likely too large to effectively reach the nerve. If you could reach it by manual means, you would have to consider the effect this would have to the blood flow of the large vessels in front of the nerve. It’s just not easy or effective.

If you get desperate to treat a fringe health condition, the stimulators on the open market are probably going to be a waste of time and money (sorry, not sorry). A surgeon can implant a stimulator, but this would be for very specific and serious conditions. More than likely, altering Vagus Nerve function is going to come through learning to relax your mindset, or altering heart rate.

Interestingly enough, severe pain can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure. If you have severe back or neck pain, please give us a call! 316-729-2528.

Dopps Chiropractic We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

Tonight we celebrated the graduation of our first born son, Titus Bradford. He has been accepted into KU Law and will have his Juris Doctorate in 6 years.

We tried our best not to protect him, but to prepare him. His determination shows it. He has become such a funny, intelligent, strong, and compassionate young man.

He has become a leader to his peers. His friendships are his life, and he is always eager to help his friends live right.

We can’t wait to see how he builds and leads his own family!

The deadly threat of poor mobility: Many people have a poor gait when they hurt their back or hip. When they get worse, they may use a cane. This point is critical because it can cause the advancement to a walker, and then a wheelchair. Although this seems innocent, it is not. Have you heard of someone who has taken an international flight and died of an embolism afterward? You may also know people who have poor mobility are more likely to have illnesses of the lungs, such as pneumonia. There are physiological reasons for these scenarios.

Heart health is important, as it needs to deliver blood to the tissues of the body. However, mobility is just as important in moving blood through the body. Many people don’t realize that veins have valves in them to prevent backflow. When you walk and contract your leg muscles, fluid is pushed back up to the heart and the valves prevent blood from falling back to the feet. If this doesn’t happen, the risk of clotting can occur in the lower limbs, like the example of the pulmonary embolism after an international flight.

When poor mobility sets in, more fluid will pool in the lower legs because it is not being pushed back up to the heart. Swelling in the ankles and feet are an initial sign. Swelling of legs with normal color can indicate pooling of fluid between cells. Sometimes the swelling is pink. This can indicate the pooling of blood (kind of like livor mortis). There are some people who become purple in the area of swelling. This can partially be due to blood thinners in addition to the swelling

Swelling of the lower legs can also be due to poor heart function and increased body weight. Both cause resistance to the flow of fluids in and out of tissue. How can you prevent this?

Diet and exercise go hand in hand with this situation. Increased body weight prevents mobility. Decreased mobility will increase body weight. If you are in poor health, you may need a more aggressive diet and light weight training initially. This is a delicate balance at the start, as dieting can cause muscle loss.

If back, hip, or knee pain is part of the reason you are not mobile, please give us a call. We would love to sit down with you and discuss options that may improve your mobility. We can also guide you in diet and exercise. This change usually needs to be addressed from different angles.

Some people need to make this decision: Do you want the pain and risks of poor mobility, or do you want the pain and risks of hard, healthy change? We are here to help make this change! Call us at 316-729-2528!

Dopps Chiropractic We are a husband-wife chiropractic team located in Maize, KS | Dr. Ian Dopps | Dr. Kamra Dopps

We’ve been gone with the kids for spring break and will be open again on Tuesday, 3/24.

We hope you enjoyed time with your family over the break!