Could Vagus Nerve Dysfunction Be Affecting Your Health?
You've probably heard at least a little bit about the vagus nerve and its role in managing the function of internal organs and the balance between the "rest, digest, and repair" versus "fight, flight, or freeze" modes of nervous system activity.
But did you know that vagus nerve function is heavily influenced by your neck posture, curvature, and (in)stability ... as well as head and neck injuries, Lyme disease, mold illness, and COVID-19?
And did you know that very common symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, and "leaky gut" can be caused by vagus nerve dysfunction?
How Your Neck Posture, Curvature, and (In)Stability Can Affect Your Health
Most of us have developed poor neck posture as a result of looking down at cell phones and tablets, and even computer screens that are not positioned slighly above eye level.
(You need to be looking up or level, not down, most of the time!)
In the last decade or two, the use of "screens" has been wreaking massive havoc on necks around the world.
Looking at screens results in "forward head posture" and loss of normal neck curvature, often resuling in "ligament laxity" and "craniocervical instability" (CCI).
Forward head posture and CCI can also result from structural issues in the jaws, bite, palate, and airway that cause neck imbalances such as forward head posture as the head moves forward in an attempt to re-position the jaw or tongue and/or open the airway.
CCI can damage the vagus nerve or at least alter its function, and these changes to vagus nerve function can mediate almost any symptom or condition you can think from your head to your toes.
Vagus nerve dysfunction can even cause intestinal dysbiosis and "leaky gut".
Assessing Vagus Nerve Dysfunction and CCI
How can you assess whether you have vagus nerve dysfunction?
One way to screen yourself for this is to look in the mirror at the uvula at the back of your throat while saying "Ahh".
Does you uvula hang straight down, or does it hang slightly to the left or right while saying "Ahh"?
If it does not hang straight down and hangs to one side or the other, you have vagus nerve dysfunction on the side that it hangs toward.
How can you assess whether vagus nerve dysfunction is caused by CCI?
One way to check the likelihood that you have CCI, is to check whether you have "forward head posture", which can lead to CCI.
Have somebody take a photo of your head, neck, and shoulders from the side.
If your ears are forward of the middle of your shoulder, you have "forward head posture", which may have also given you CCI.
If your neck makes creaky noises when you turn your head from side to side, that is a typical symptom of CCI called "crepitus".
Headache, dizziness, and lightheadedness are the most common symptoms of CCI.
Numbness, tingling, neck pain, shoulder pain, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, gut symptoms, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), cognitive issues, and low back pain are other symptoms commonly associated with CCI, but these symptoms can also have many other causes.
If you have any of these symptoms or conditions that have nor responded to anything you've done so far, and you have signs of CCI, consider learning more about how to diagnose and treat CCI.
Ross Hauser, MD of Caring Medical in Florida has a very informative 3-part video series on YouTube that begins with this video.
Another perspective on CCI and how to diagnose and treat it can be found in this video by Chris Centeno, MD of the Centeno-Schulz Clinic.
The Centeno-Schultz Clinic has licensed practitioners around the country to use their Regenexx-branded regenerative medicine methods, and these practitioners may know how to diagnose and treat CCI, though I have heard Dr. Centeno state that the only people he trusts to treat CCI are the practitioners that work at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic.
I have used the Centeno-Schultz Clinic and their Regenexx methods to tighten up ligaments in my low back and might do the same for my neck.
Non-Postural Causes and Contributors to CCI and Vagus Nerve Dysfunction
Having said all of this about the contribution of neck posture and CCI to vagus nerve dysfunction, it's important to realize that many other factors besides neck posture can cause or contribute to CCI, and many other factors besides CCI can contribute to vagus nerve dysfunction.
CCI can also be caused by things like ...
- Head and neck injuries
- Mold toxins
- Lyme Disease
- COVID-19
And vagus nerve dysfunction can be driven by things like ...
- Head and neck injuries, mold toxins, Lyme Disease, or COVID-19 directly affecting the vagus nerve without necessarily causing CCI
- Toxicity and/or infection of the vagus nerve orginating from the gut
- Psychological trauma
- Chronic stress
CCI, other structural issues, and vagus nerve dysfunction are significant hidden causes of biochemical and metabolic imbalances, yet most health practitioners are only looking at biochemistry and metabolism, not realizing that structural issues and vagus nerve dysfunction can cause biochemical and metabolic imbalances.
Structural issues and vagus nerve dysfunction are two of the nine main categories of root causes that we assess and address in the Bio-Individual Blueprint system.
If you would like to discuss how I might be able to help you overcome health challenges or simply get to the next level of health, download the Bio-Individual Blueprint Roadmap, watch the walkthrough video, and schedule a complimentary consultation with me to ...
- Go over your situation
- Review what you've done so far
- Identify some potential next steps for you to take
- Discuss whether it might be a fit for us to work together
If you have already downloaded the Roadmap and watched the walkthrough video, you can go here to schedule a complimentary conversation.