Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: Treatment & Case Study

Описание: Today is Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (or CVS) Awareness Day, 2024.
CVS is a recurrent nausea and vomiting disorder that is characterised by recurrent bouts of nausea and vomiting, without the cause being a diagnosable gastrointestinal disorder. It affects both adults and children and is a condition frequently seen at the Melbourne Headache Centre.

There is often a long delay to diagnosis with episodes often passed off to food poisoning, motion sickness, stress, viral illnesses or brushed off as “kids just vomit sometimes' '. It’s usually the parents that pick up patterns and realise that no one else in the family is getting sick.

Like migraine CVS is actually diagnosed at the exclusion of gastrointestinal disorders. CVS represents a 'control centre' disorder rather than problems with the digestive organs themselves, so it's important to take into account the impact of the nervous system.

We all add stress to our nervous system throughout the day, with things such as poor sleep, stimulants (coffee), bright lights, hot cars, skipping meals, or eating certain foods (including alcohol), mental stress, anticipatory anxiety and changes in our hormones.

In some cases of bigger stress we see acute changes in bowel, bladder and stomach function. For example, it is not unusual before an exam, job interview or grand final for people to need to go to the toilet over and over, or to feel nauseous or even vomit. A natural response to the anticipation of stress is to 'clear the decks'. If our system is already 'loaded up' with other stressors then small daily stressors can start creating the same reactions as big stressors.

Dysfunction affecting the small muscles under the base of the skull is an underrated source of stress. This is because these muscles play an important role in how we react to perceived threat, not only affecting our posture, but also by helping us position our eyes towards the direction of threat. Changes in these muscles can affect heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and even gastric function. The area that controls these signals is the area responsible for nausea and vomiting, and is called the solitary nucleus.

Dysfunction affecting these small muscles can lead to the feeling (from our brains point of view) that we can’t protect ourselves. Also, if the neck muscles are sending conflicting information to the solitary nucleus then we get a stress response. This can be felt as headache, dizziness, vertigo, nausea and or vomiting.

At the Melbourne Headache Centre we use techniques specifically designed to treat the underlying faults causing these muscles to tighten and spasm, and achieve sustained relief from symptoms.

Here we present the details of a 12 year old with a 6-year history of CVS wh responded well to treatment.

— Contents of this video

0:00 - Intro: Cyclic Vomiting Awareness Day 2024
0:20 - What is Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS)
0:58 - Our Nervous System / Coffee Cup Analogy
2:17 - The Necks Involvement
3:19 - Case Study : 12y.o. Boy
4:48 - Case Study : Examination
6:11 - Treatment
6:47 - Results
7:20 - Contact Details