Balance for the second brain :
The significance of the enteric plexus in bodywork
Conny Pulvermacher | BA ( Hons ), MPhil ( EDU ), Dip Cranio-Sacral Therapy , Dip Myofascial Release , Cert IV Remedial Massage .
Abstract Many clients who seek bodywork are burdened by an imbalance in their autonomic nervous system ( ANS ), due to the pressures of modern life . The sympathetic branch is usually over-stimulated and the parasympathetic branch hampered in its ability to regulate too much excitation within the visceral realm . The role of the nervous system embedded within our digestive tract , the enteric nervous system ( ENS ), is often overlooked in this context , yet is a key player in the health of the ANS and its self-regulating ability . Bodywork can provide the perfect treatment realm for enhancing the function of the ENS , thus contributing significantly to the restoration of health in our clients .
You might well ask : why is a bodywork-orientated article focussing on a visceral rather than a structural realm ? A significant premise of bodywork is the inextricable link between form and function , between anatomy and its physiology . That premise highlights the inextricable link between the viscera and the structure of the body : as bodyworkers we significantly influence both . It is thus immensely useful for bodyworkers to gain in-depth visceral knowledge , and particularly about the ENS with its profound influence on the physical and mental health of our clients .
Introduction
The complexity of the enteric nervous system ( ENS ) has still not been understood in its entirety . Similarly to the brain , it is constantly surprising researchers with new revelations . However , it is well established that the ENS governing the entire gastrointestinal tract ( GIT ) has more neurons than the spinal cord itself .( 1 ) The multitude of neurons , the presence of glia , the complexity of neural communication — due to the interneurons-based autonomous decision-making processes of the ENS — have given it the nickname ‘ the second brain ’.
This second brain takes decisions influencing digestive processes without relaying those decisions to the central nervous system ( CNS ). The autonomy of the ENS thus expresses itself without our conscious perception of it . The essential movement of peristalsis occurs from the oesophagus all the way to the anus without most of us being consciously aware of it . And yet , if anything interferes with that movement every aspect of the metabolism is affected , and the conscious realm can become very unhappy if that essential metabolic process is disturbed for a longer time than usual .( 1 ) Even though the ENS works mostly imperceptibly , its significance and influence in our lives is recognised even in cultural and idiomatic expressions such as : ‘ I have a gut feeling that …’, ‘ They can stomach anything …’.
Although the ENS operates autonomously to a significant degree , it does also have essential communication with the CNS via the autonomic pathways of the vagus nerve , the sacral plexus and prominent sympathetic celiac and mesenteric ganglia , as well as via spinal reflexes in the lumbar and mid-thoracic vertebrae , and richly
JATMS | Autumn 2022 | 17