Over the past few decades, life-changing diagnoses like autism, ADHD, anxiety, asthma, and allergies have rapidly increased in children. In fact, according to the CDC, 1 in 36 children are now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. ADHD is similarly on the rise, with approximately 1 million more kids being diagnosed with it between 2016 and 2022.
While genetics and lifestyle factors play a role, clinical evidence increasingly points to the nervous system dysregulation and vagus nerve dysfunction as a root cause that is being massively overlooked and missed by the conventional medical system.
At the heart of this is the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest of the cranial nerves, connecting the brain to vital organs and regulating functions like heart rate, digestion, inflammation, behavior, and more. Disruption of this critical nerve from various stresses like a high risk pregnancy and birth trauma can lead to chronic health conditions that impact a child’s quality of life.
In this article, we’ll explore the hidden world of vagus nerve disorders and how Neurologically Focused Chiropractic Care can help stimulate and activate the vagus nerve, setting the stage for lasting, drug-free healing.
What is the Vagus Nerve?
The vagus nerve, also known as the 10th cranial nerve, is the longest and most complex of the cranial nerves in the human body. Its name, derived from the Latin word for “wandering,” reflects its extensive path through the body.
The vagus nerve is a key component of the autonomic nervous system, specifically the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body’s “rest and digest” functions. It plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis and regulating various involuntary processes, including:
- Digestion
- Heart rate
- Respiratory rate
- Inflammation
- Immune response
We also now know thanks to work on the polyvagal theory by Dr. Stephen Porges that the vagus nerve is highly involved in regulating our children’s emotions and behavior, which is why it’s such an important aspect of helping children with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and more.
Where is the Vagus Nerve?
The vagus nerve originates in the brainstem and extends through the neck, thorax, and abdomen, connecting the brain to vital organs along its path. It is divided into two main branches:
- The right vagus nerve: Innervates the right side of the body
- The left vagus nerve: Innervates the left side of the body
These branches further divide into smaller nerve fibers that reach various organs, including the heart, lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines.
Vagus Nerve Function
Within the autonomic nervous system, the vagus nerve plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health and well-being by regulating several essential functions:
- Digestion: The vagus nerve controls the muscles of the digestive tract, stimulates the production of digestive enzymes, and regulates the absorption of nutrients.
- Heart rate: By sending signals to the heart’s pacemaker, the vagus nerve helps to slow down the heart rate and maintain a steady rhythm.
- Inflammation: The vagus nerve plays a key role in the body’s anti-inflammatory response by regulating the production of cytokines, which are proteins that help to control inflammation.
- Gut-brain axis: The vagus nerve is a critical component of the gut-brain axis, allowing bidirectional communication between the digestive system and the brain. This connection is essential for maintaining optimal digestion, mood, and overall health.
By understanding the vagus nerve’s structure, location, and functions, we can begin to appreciate its far-reaching impact on the body and the potential consequences of its dysfunction.
The Vagus Nerve and Brain Function
The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in regulating emotions and behavior in children by influencing the autonomic nervous system, which controls many of the body’s involuntary functions. Here’s how the vagus nerve contributes to emotional and behavioral regulation:
- Emotion Regulation: The vagus nerve helps to control the body’s response to stress and anxiety. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), often referred to as the “rest, regulate, digest” system, which can calm the body after periods of heightened stress or excitement. This calming effect is essential for children to manage emotional reactions and prevent them from becoming overwhelming.
- Social Engagement System: The vagus nerve is a key component of what Stephen Porges termed the “social engagement system.” This system influences facial expression, vocal tone, and listening abilities—all crucial for effective social interaction. Proper functioning of this system allows children to engage positively in social situations, which is vital for developing social skills and forming relationships.
- Behavioral Responses: Through its impact on the autonomic nervous system, the vagus nerve influences how children respond to their environment. A well-regulated vagus nerve can lead to more adaptive and less aggressive responses to stress. When the vagus nerve is functioning optimally, children are likely to exhibit behaviors that are more socially appropriate and less impulsive.
- Physiological Regulation: The vagus nerve helps regulate heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate, which are all affected by emotional states. For example, when children are anxious or stressed, an active vagus nerve can slow down the heart rate and promote breathing that supports calmness and relaxation.
- Influence on Neurotransmitters: The vagus nerve affects the release of various neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine, which plays a role in attention and learning. By influencing neurotransmitter levels, the vagus nerve can affect a child’s mood and cognitive functions, contributing to better emotional balance and behavioral control.
When you combine the roles the vagus nerve plays in digestion, immune, and overall brain function it’s easy to see why making sure this absolutely essential nerve is functioning at its best just may be the single most important factor in children’s health and development, and it needs far more care and attention from pediatric healthcare providers.
The Vagus Nerve and Immune System Dysfunction
Vagus nerve dysfunction can significantly impact the immune system and contribute to inflammation through several mechanisms. Here’s how this connection typically works:
- Regulation of Inflammation: The vagus nerve plays a crucial role in the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, a mechanism through which the nervous system communicates with the immune system to regulate inflammatory responses. When the vagus nerve is functioning properly, it can inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, molecules that promote inflammation. If the vagus nerve’s function is compromised, this regulatory mechanism may fail, leading to unchecked inflammation.
- Signal Disruption: The vagus nerve sends signals to various parts of the body, including the spleen, where it helps regulate immune responses. Dysfunction in the vagus nerve can disrupt these signals, leading to an impaired immune response. This can make the body more susceptible to infections and diseases and can exacerbate inflammatory conditions.
- Stress Response: The vagus nerve is a key part of the body’s response to stress. Normally, it helps to manage and mitigate the body’s stress response by promoting relaxation and recovery through the parasympathetic nervous system. However, if the vagus nerve is dysfunctional, the body may remain in a state of heightened sympathetic activity (fight or flight), which is known to suppress the immune system and increase vulnerability to inflammation and disease.
- Gut-Brain Axis: The vagus nerve is also integral to the gut-brain axis, linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. Dysfunction in the vagus nerve can lead to gastrointestinal issues, which are often associated with inflammation and alterations in gut microbiota. Since a significant portion of the immune system is located in the gut, disturbances here can impact immune regulation and promote inflammatory processes.
These pathways illustrate why maintaining the health of the vagus nerve is essential for overall immune function and managing inflammation. Strategies to enhance vagal tone and autonomic nervous system balance, such as incorporating Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care to stimulate foundational neurological healing and restoration is an important first step in the process for many families who’ve likely already tried multiple medications, supplements, diet changes and so forth.
Signs of Vagus Nerve Dysfunction
Vagus nerve dysfunction occurs when the vagus nerve is not functioning properly, leading to various symptoms and health issues. Unfortunately, vagus nerve disorders in children are prominent, particularly in those who have experienced birth trauma, chronic stress, or infections.
The symptoms of vagus nerve dysfunction can vary depending on the severity and location of the dysfunction, but common signs include:
- Digestive issues (e.g., bloating, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux)
- Difficulty swallowing or speaking
- Rapid or slow heart rate
- Dizziness or fainting
- Anxiety and depression
- Chronic fatigue
- Headaches and migraines
- Chronic inflammation
- Weakened immune response
- Sensory processing disorders
- Focus and concentration challenges
- Difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
These symptoms can have a significant impact on a child’s quality of life, affecting their physical, emotional, and social well-being.
Vagus Nerve Dysfunction Explained
The vagus nerve can sometimes struggle to regulate important bodily functions within its domain, leading to vagus nerve dysfunction, which is sometimes called dysautonomia.
This dysfunction often occurs following physical trauma such as birth trauma, serious infections, surgical complications, and other conditions that damage the delicate anatomical structures the vagus nerve depends on. Psychological stress, prolonged exposure to toxins, and chronic inflammation can also compromise the vagus nerve.
Recent evidence suggests that neurological dysfunction in the upper neck and brainstem regions, known as subluxation, can disrupt communication between the brain, vagus nerve, and end organs.
This dysfunction may be present in the majority of confirmed cases of dysautonomia and nervous system dysregulation. It alters and interferes with the sensory input and communication into the brain, leading to disrupted communication between the brain and the end organs, significantly contributing to functional and regulatory issues.
“The Perfect Storm” of Factors Behind Vagus Nerve Problems
At PX Docs, we often refer to the combination of factors that can lead to vagus nerve dysfunction as “The Perfect Storm.” This concept suggests that a series of events and stressors, often beginning in utero and continuing through early childhood, can accumulate and overwhelm the developing nervous system.
Vagus nerve problems can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Physical trauma and injury: Birth trauma, such as prolonged labor, forceps delivery, or vacuum extraction, can damage delicate tissues, leading to vagus nerve damage. Other physical traumas, like head injuries or whiplash, can also cause vagus nerve inflammation and damage.
- Chronic stress and emotional trauma: Exposure to chronic stress or emotional trauma, particularly during childhood, can lead to changes in the nervous system that affect vagus nerve function. This can result in an overactive “fight or flight” response and reduced vagal tone.
- Infections and inflammatory conditions: Viral and bacterial infections, as well as chronic inflammatory conditions like autoimmune disorders, can damage the vagus nerve and disrupt its function.
When these factors combine, they can create a vicious cycle of nervous system dysregulation, inflammation, and vagus nerve dysfunction, setting the stage for various health challenges.
Vagus Nerve Damage
Vagus nerve damage, also known as dysfunction, can lead to impaired communication between the brain and body, resulting in various effects across multiple systems that the vagus nerve interfaces with. Consequences of impaired vagal signaling include:
- Digestive issues
- Cardiovascular problems
- Respiratory dysfunction
- Mental health
- Difficulty swallowing, impaired gag reflex
- Sleep disorders
- Headaches, migraines
- Hormonal imbalances
- Behavioral and emotional dysregulation
When a series of overwhelming stressors we call the “Perfect Storm,” affect a child’s nervous system from conception through childhood, it can lead to injury and dysfunction. This impairs the vagus nerve signaling and regulation, hindering the body’s ability to recover properly and contributing to the rise in inflammatory, immune, and chronic disorders in children.
Vagus nerve dysfunction is often overlooked but is crucial to overall healthcare.
It’s important to discuss and research the reality of birth trauma as the most common trigger or cause of vagus nerve dysfunction. Millions of infants are born each year through interventions that can physically strain and traumatize the brainstem and vagus nerve area.
This physical injury and trauma to the vagus nerve can have lasting effects if not discovered and properly addressed by a trained Neurologically-Focused Pediatric Chiropractor.
The PX Docs Approach to Vagus Nerve Dysfunction
At PX Docs, we take a unique approach to addressing vagal nerve damage by focusing on the root cause of the issue: nervous system dysregulation and subluxation. Our Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care protocols are designed to identify and correct these underlying imbalances, helping to restore proper function to the vagus nerve and support overall health and well-being.
To get to the root issue, we use INSiGHT Scans. INSiGHT Scans are a revolutionary tool that allows us to assess the function of your child’s nervous system and identify areas of subluxation. These scans use surface electromyography (sEMG), thermal scanning, and heart rate variability (HRV) to provide a detailed picture of your child’s neurological health.
By addressing these root causes, rather than simply masking symptoms with medication, we aim to promote long-term healing and optimal function of the vagus nerve and other key systems in the body.
Neuro-Tonal Adjustments for Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Once we have identified areas of subluxation and nervous system dysregulation, we use precise Neuro-Tonal adjustments to help restore vagal nerve balance and promote optimal function. These adjustments are designed to:
- Reduce subluxation and stimulate proprioception
- Stimulate the vagus nerve and promote parasympathetic nervous system function
- Improve communication between the brain and the body
- Reduce inflammation and support gut health
- Strengthen the immune response and endocrine system
- Enhance overall nervous system regulation and resilience
By addressing the root cause of vagus nerve dysfunction, Neuro-Tonal adjustments can help to alleviate symptoms and support your child’s overall health and development.
Unlocking Your Child’s Potential Through Neurologically-Focused Care
At PX Docs, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential. Our Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care approach identifies the root causes of vagus nerve dysfunction, promoting optimal health and function for your child.
If you suspect that your child has a damaged vagus nerve, we encourage you to take action and seek out the care they need. The PX Docs Directory can help you find a qualified practitioner near you who can assess your child’s unique needs and develop a personalized care plan.
Don’t let vagus nerve dysfunction prevent your child from experiencing optimal health and happiness. With Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care, you can help your child build a strong foundation for lifelong wellness and success.
Start today and schedule a consultation with a PX Docs practitioner. Together, we can help your child thrive and reach their full potential!
