How to treat Neck Pain by Yourself at Home

First, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves arise from the spinal cord segments.  

The sympathetic nervous system prepares for activity.  

• Provide more glucose
• Increases the heart rate
• Dilates the pupils
• Prevents activities for digestive systems

On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system conserves body energy.

• Increase gut motility
• Stimulate digestion
• Slow down the heart rate

A lot of parasympathetic nerves arise from the brainstem and the spine.  

The Vagus Nerve is one of the significant parasympathetic nerves.  

It ritually targets most organs and tissues and carries information like pain and temperature from the throat, inner and outer ear, and near the back of the head.  

It also receives information from the internal organ in the neck, chest, and abdomen.

And it controls muscles in the throat that function for speaking and swallowing.  

• Tightening the airways
• Slowing down the heart rate
• Stimulates digestion
• Dilate intestinal blood flow

Thus, vagus nerves are easily affected by digestion or stress.  

For example, when you are stressed out, anxious, or depressed, your vagus nerves get irritated, causing digestive problems such as stomach upset, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or gas. 

As I said, the vagus nerve carries 75% of parasympathetic nervous function. 

It travels from our brainstem to the intestines, including other organs and glands.  

The Vagus nerve runs right behind the Sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) and right in front of the scalenes muscles in the neck.  

In addition, the spinal accessory nerve also goes to the SCM and upper trap muscles. Once it is irritated, it can cause muscle tightness.

Neck muscle tightness which is irritated by vagus nerves.