The vagus nerve connects the brain to almost every major internal organ. It plays an important role in regulating physical and emotional health. This system supports the body to regulate stress responses, such as heart rate, sleep quality, and digestion. Damage to the vagus nerve can interrupt or alter these processes, causing negative health symptoms.
What Is the Vagus Nerve?
The vagus nerve could be compared to a fibre optic cable which facilitates communication between the brain and the body. It is part of the autonomic nervous system which regulates homeostasis in the body and is fundamental to our health. Without this regulatory system, we would have no control over critical bodily functions such as heart rate and temperature control, digestive functions, and sleep and wake cycles.
With this understanding, we can see how a damaged vagus nerve can be responsible for a range of health issues. Stimulation of the vagus nerve can improve its function and increase health benefits. This can be done in several ways, including, massage, meditation, cold exposure, and through the use of vagus nerve stimulation devices.
Possible Vagus Nerve Damage Symptoms
A damaged vagus nerve may present as feelings of chronic stress and overwhelm, digestive issues, or feeling short of breath. People with vagus nerve damage may be affected by one or more of the ailments listed below:
Digestive Issues
Digestive issues can be a common sign of vagus nerve damage. When the vagus nerve is damaged, its signals to the stomach muscles and intestines are disrupted. This can initially result in pain, nausea, inflammation, and acid reflux. Long-term, this can also lead to health issues related to malnutrition if food and nutrients are unable to be absorbed.
Mood Disorders
Those with vagus nerve damage may experience mood disorders. This may be a result of disturbance within the brain-gut axis (Breit et al., 2018). Poor vagal regulation can increase inflammation in the gut. This can affect the production of important neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Interference in the creation and balance of these chemicals can lead to issues in mood and feelings of motivation.
Chronic Pain
Vagus nerve damage can result in chronic pain, most often caused by increased inflammation. Often, pain is reported to be most prominent in the neck or abdomen.
Voice Changes
The vagus nerve is connected to muscles that control the vocal cords, in particular, the larynx. This means that damage to the vagus nerve can create changes in the voice. Symptoms of vagus nerve damage in this area include chronic coughing, loss of voice power, and difficulty swallowing.
Respiratory Problems
A healthy vagus nerve is important for regulating respiration and normal breathing. If the vagus nerve is damaged it can cause shortness of breath, this can have a knock-on effect creating issues with many other bodily functions.
What Causes Vagus Nerve Damage?
Damage to the vagus nerve can happen in several ways and lead to detrimental effects on the body.
Trauma
Trauma is most commonly associated with damage to the nervous system, yet, there is often some misunderstanding of its meaning. Dr. Gabor Maté describes it well – “Trauma is not what happens to you, it’s what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you” (Processing Trauma After a Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, n.d.). After someone has experienced trauma, the vagus nerve can become damaged. This can create a knock-on effect, negatively impacting various bodily functions.
Stress
It is common to experience stress in our busy modern lives. Small levels of stress are normal and not necessarily bad for us. But when we become unable to recover from stress, it can cause significant damage to the body.
Whatever its cause, chronic stress puts a strain on our bodily functions. This can lead to a damaged nervous system and create vagus nerve damage symptoms.
Disease and Chronic Illness
Many diseases and chronic illnesses create inflammation in the body and raise stress levels. It is also likely that many diseases lead to poor gut health. All these factors can contribute to vagus nerve damage which can continue to perpetuate ill-health.
Surgery
There is a risk of vagus nerve damage during some surgical procedures. Areas of the body where the vagus nerve is connected may be affected. This includes neck dissection, cardiac surgery, abdominal surgery, and gallbladder surgery (Patel et al., 2022). Damage can occur through cutting, stretching, or clamping of the nerve during the procedure.
Poor Posture
Long-term poor posture can affect the nervous system. We know that the vagus nerve runs down the spine, connecting the brain to the organs. So, continuous compression or overstretching of the spine through poor posture may damage the vagus nerve.
Do You Need to Seek Medical Help?
Speak to your healthcare provider if you are experiencing any of the symptoms described. If necessary, medical professionals may be able to assess vagus nerve damage through a variety of methods. This may include checking gag reflexes and measuring heart rate and blood pressure. In some cases, CT and MRI scans may be required to identify intestinal blockages which may be related to vagus nerve damage.
Is It Possible to Manage Vagus Nerve Damage Symptoms?
It is possible to improve the function of your vagus nerve and there are a variety of ways to do so. Your healthcare provider may suggest non-medical techniques to manage vagus nerve damage. These will often be things that you can do for yourself at home.
Remedies That May Support Vagus Nerve Damage Symptoms
Some ways you can support vagus nerve damage symptoms and improve the function of the vagus nerve include:
- Massage – Gentle massage of the neck, shoulders, or abdomen can stimulate the vagus nerve and induce relaxation.
- Meditation – Simple meditation techniques can support relaxation. This may help to decrease inflammation.
- Cold exposure – Exposure to the cold through cold showers, or wild swimming can activate the vagus nerve.
- Breathing exercises – Practicing deep breathing can lower the heart rate. This can reduce stress resulting in improved vagal tone
- Probiotics – Vagus nerve damage may affect microbiome diversity in the gut (Fülling et al., 2019). Ingesting probiotics can help to recover this balance and improve digestive health.
- Exercise – Temporarily increasing the heart rate through exercise such as running or swimming can improve and maintain the function of the vagus nerve.
- Yoga – Yoga combines the benefits of meditation, breathing practices, and exercise, resulting in relaxation and a healthy nervous system.
- Vagus nerve stimulation devices – New technology provides a variety of devices that stimulate the vagus nerve and improve its function.
- Singing/ vocal exercises – Singing can be a creative way to stimulate the vagus nerve and the vibrations in the throat and chest can be soothing to the vocal cords.
The vagus nerve plays an important role in many bodily functions and damage to the vagus nerve can show up in a variety of ways. There are some simple ways to improve the health and function of the vagus nerve. Yet, it is important to be aware of the symptoms and to seek medical advice if you have any health concerns.
FAQs:
- Can a damaged vagus nerve be fixed?
It is possible to improve and maintain good function of the vagus nerve through stimulation of the nerve. See some of the remedies listed above.
- Can vagus nerve damage affect digestion?
Yes, due to our understanding of the brain-gut axis, digestion can be significantly affected by vagus nerve damage.
- Can vagus nerve damage be prevented?
Stress is one of the main catalysts for vagus nerve damage. Often, damage to the vagus nerve can be prevented through efficient stress management. By learning to identify your stress triggers and finding ways to manage them you can support the health of your nervous system.
- How long does it take for the vagus nerve to recover?
This will vary from person to person. Seek advice from your healthcare provider to assess the severity of damage to the vagus nerve and an approximate time for recovery.
Sources
- Breit, S., Kupferberg, A., Rogler, G., & Hasler, G. (2018). Vagus nerve as modulator of the Brain–Gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044
- Patel, A., Ally, M., Venkatachalam, V., Hearn, M., & Mochloulis, G. (2022). The learning curve and safety of continuous intraoperative vagus nerve monitoring in thyroid surgery. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 104(8), 618–623. https://doi.org/10.1308/rcsann.2021.0263
- Fülling, C., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2019). Gut microbe to brain signaling: What happens in vagus… Neuron, 101(6), 998–1002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.008
- Processing trauma after a cancer diagnosis and treatment. (n.d.). Perci Health Content Hub. https://contenthub.percihealth.com/processing-trauma-after-a-cancer-diagnosis-and-treatment