Raynaud’s Syndrome: The Vagus Nerve Connection – Half II

Raynaud’s Syndrome is a situation the place blood vessels in an individual’s extremities shut down when uncovered to chilly. It’s brought on by peripheral blood vessels overreacting to colder temperatures and may end up in painful and discolored extremities.

The Vagus Nerve

New analysis suggests an alternate methodology for treating Raynaud’s signs not directly through the vagus nerve. Literature relating to the appliance of important oils is usually weak. Literature relating to the appliance of important oils to the vagus nerve presents a large alternative for additional analysis.

The autonomic nervous system consists of three components, the parasympathetic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system, every taking part in an interconnected position in sustaining homeostasis. The position of the autonomic nervous system is to control the physique’s flight, fright or freeze response (Boundless, n.d.).

The parasympathetic nervous system performs a minor position relating to Raynaud’s symptomatology, The parasympathetic nervous system is usually known as the “relaxation and digest system”. It’s liable for slowing the guts charge, regulating the intestines, glands and sphincter muscular tissues of the gastro-intenstinal (GI) tract.

The sympathetic nervous system additionally helps regulate the flight or combat response. The position it performs in regulating stress is especially useful to managing Raynaud’s phenomenon. The important thing function of the sympathetic nervous system is that it’s liable for regulating blood stream to muscular tissues by shutting down blood stream to the pores and skin.

The “enteric nervous system” is the intrinsic nervous system of the GI tract. The GI tract is a sequence of hole organs that features the mouth, esophagus, abdomen, small gut, giant gut, and anus (U.S. Division of Well being and Hu man Providers, 2017). “The magnitude and complexity of the enteric nervous system is immense – it incorporates as many neurons because the spinal wire.

The enteric nervous system, together with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous techniques, represent the autonomic nervous system.” Neuroscientists are notably curious about studying concerning the gut-brain connection. The abdomen sits on the heart of the GI tract. Neuroscientists have realized “It’s the solely organ that incorporates an intrinsic nervous system that is ready to mediate reflexes within the full absence of enter from the mind or spinal wire” (Gershon, 1998).

It’s for these causes that the abdomen is usually known as a “second mind”. Expressions equivalent to, “go along with your intestine” or “I’ve acquired butterflies in my abdomen,” tackle new which means in gentle of those ideas. Although the enteric nervous system just isn’t able to aware thought, it profoundly communicates with our “first mind”. The knowledge freeway between the enteric nervous system and the mind is named the vagus nerve (Johns Hopkins Drugs, 2020).

Vagus Nerve Stimulation

“The vagus nerve is one in every of 12 pairs of cranial nerves that originate within the mind and controls involuntary physique features. The nerve passes via the neck because it travels between the chest and stomach and the decrease a part of the mind.” It’s the neural pathway between the mind and the enteric nervous system (American Affiliation of Neurological Surgeons, n.d.).

“Current research have proven that vagal nerve stimulation has vasodilatory and anti inflammatory properties which has led to extra preclinical analysis analyzing vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as therapy for a wider vary of inflammatory and autoimmune issues.

Though there aren’t any direct information to display vagus nerve stimulation’s impact in Raynaud’s phenomenon, the investigators consider that VNS’s success in treating headache and migraine assaults not directly assist its use in Raynaud’s phenomenon by its direct impact on vasospasms (narrowing of blood vessels). Actually migraine has been discovered as a danger issue for the event of Raynaud’s phenomenon additional helps this notion” (Kahaleh, 2019).

A attribute of main Raynaud’s syndrome is that vasospasming is reversible (Suter, Felson, Fraenkel, 2005). Physicians have entry to the information from scientific trials that assist the usage of R. officinalis to deal with vasospasms and there are indicators that stimulation of the vagus nerve may also present enchancment in Raynaud’s phenomenon.

One would assume that provided that main Raynaud’s is reversible, a standard physician offering Raynaud’s as a prognosis would have the ability to provide a greater variety of therapy than to, “put on gloves.”

Vagus nerve stimulators are implantable units that ship, “common, delicate pulses {of electrical} power to the mind through the vagus nerve, via a tool that’s just like a pacemaker. There isn’t any bodily involvement of the mind on this surgical procedure and sufferers can not typically really feel the pulses (American Affiliation of Neurological Surgeons, n.d.). There are additionally exterior units that stimulate the vagus nerve in an analogous method by sending electrical impulses via the vagus nerve. The exterior units ship {the electrical} cost via the pores and skin on the neck the place the vagus nerve passes down into the chest.

Aromatics and Vagus Nerve Stimulation

The efficacy of R. officinalis and exterior vagus nerve stimulation in assuaging the symptomatology of Raynaud’s syndrome needs to be of excessive curiosity to aromatherapists. One methodology for making use of important oil is the vita flex approach. The vita flex approach was dropped at america from Tibet and actually means “Vitality via the reflexes.” Important oils and the vita flex approach complement one another very nicely and obtain a synergistic high quality when mixed.

The premise behind vita flex is that slight stress utilized through the fingertips create a static electrical cost often called piezoelectricity. To attain the cost, “a rolling movement of the finger pads, ideas, and nails, creates the stimulation just like how an electrical swap or circuit works. When achieved accurately, {the electrical} power that’s produced through the approach transfers to the nerve pathways” (Vita Flex, n.d.). It’s attention-grabbing to notice that this method makes comparable claims to the strategies employed by vagus nerve stimulators.

Conclusion

Peer reviewed journals comprise proof that the appliance of R. officinalis reveals enchancment in main Raynaud’s syndrome. Scientific proof factors to vagus nerve stimulation as one other attainable therapeutic method in assuaging Raynaud’s signs. Tibetan vita flex, as advocated by some aromatherapists, may additionally result in aid for Raynaud’s victims, particularly when mixed with important oils.

Aromatherapists are in a singular place to mix all three of those information factors right into a single unified therapeutic method to deal with Raynaud’s. Given the prevalence of Raynaud’s syndrome, the obvious lack of curiosity in higher therapeutic approaches by the established medical group and the seemingly success a unified method would yield, aromatherapists must additional research such an method. It may revolu ionize life for individuals with Raynaud’s and revitalize curiosity within the research and utility of Aromatherapy.

This weblog is a part of a sequence on Raynaud’s Syndrome, you’ll be able to learn the primary a part of the sequence right here.

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