Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacity in healthy volunteers

Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by biomcgary on Friday August 15, 2025 @02:55PM (#44916176)

I use a TENS unit with an almost identical setup to the paper (ear clip is the same, duration is the same, frequency is 30hz instead of 25hz).

My use of vagus stimulation is for managing anxiety and promoting digestion / gut motility. I have neck issues that probably impinge on this nerve, contributing to these symptoms. Evidence suggests that the effect isn't purely psychosomatic; when laying on my back with TENS, I observe an increased frequency of GI tract "gurgles" relative to off. The observable product of my GI tract has also normalized somewhat.

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by biomcgary on Friday August 15, 2025 @03:14PM (#44916370)

I forgot to mention that the entire setup is about $60 on Amazon, so, for the HN audience, the biggest factor to trying it will be your time and/or intellectual aversion to non-mainstream medicine :-).

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by donclark on Wednesday August 20, 2025 @07:40AM (#44960932)

Which unit do you recommend? I see a wide variation of pricing and options on Amazon. *and thank you

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by dfoo2 on Friday August 15, 2025 @03:45PM (#44916617)

Do you have a unit you would recommend? I have pretty bad GI issues, anxiety and terrible posture.

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by biomcgary on Friday August 15, 2025 @04:08PM (#44916787)

I bought a TENS 7000, which is #1 in Amazon's "Muscle Stimulators & Accessories" category. Mine came with a 9V battery. The specific "tens ear clips" that I purchased are no longer on Amazon, but similar ones are around $20 for a pack of 3-4.

Note: some people place electrodes on the tragus, as in this paper, but others stimulate the concha. Tragus needs one two pad clip, concha needs two one pad clips. The rubber pads are just slightly bigger than the eraser of a number 2 pencil.

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by dfoo2 on Friday August 15, 2025 @04:18PM (#44916872)

Thank you, i will give it a try

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by 7839284023 on Sunday August 17, 2025 @02:39AM (#44929441)

Which mode on your TENS 7000 unit do you use when doing the vagus stimulation?

Burst, Normal or Modulation?

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by biomcgary on Sunday August 17, 2025 @07:48PM (#44935953)

normal

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by akkartik on Friday August 15, 2025 @08:03PM (#44918652)

Sounds like the place to start reading is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerv...

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Re:Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation and exercise capacit... by nathan_douglas on Friday August 15, 2025 @10:10PM (#44919509)

Hmm, this is interesting. I have rheumatoid arthritis and recently saw news of trials for using vagus stimulation to treat that. https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/03/nx...

It looks like it operates somewhat differently to this, but I'd be, well, delighted to be able to reverse my RA, even if a few of my joints are already FUBAR.

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