Doctor, does the solar plexus really exist?

Between the back wall of the stomach and the aorta there is a network of fibers and nodes of the autonomic nervous system at the level of the upper lumbar spine. This mystical, almost ring-shaped bundle is responsible for the proper functioning of digestion and blood pressure in the abdomen.

This is by no means everything that has been said about the importance of the so-called solar plexus. Even Western medicine speaks of the abdominal brain and can even justify it scientifically, since from there essential information is passed on to the brainstem via the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

Already in the ancient Indian scriptures (Vedas) an essential energy circle (chakra) is reported at this location. A lot of things happen in the subconscious. Subtle feelings such as sympathy, community spirit, etc. are projected there.

It is well known that a blow or other trauma to the pit of the stomach can throw off our automated regulatory system. It is not without reason that boxers who are only allowed to hit above the belt see a chance at this point to emerge victorious from the fight. Because a targeted blow to the solar plexus can make the opponent unable to fight because it can lead to a drop in blood pressure, dizziness and unconsciousness.

In the literature there are even several reports of a reflex death from a blow to the pit of the stomach (thank God rare). In yoga, this highly sensitive region is deliberately stimulated by stretching at the transition from the thoracic to the lumbar spine, because it stands for well-being, health and vitality, but also for the opposite.

Even though I, as a conventional doctor, have digressed a bit, I can definitely empathize with your discomfort when faced with unpleasant situations in this region of the body, even if we doctors can only describe the complex anatomical neural structure of the solar plexus, but are far from understanding everything that our abdominal brain still has to do can do everything.

Do you have questions about health? Write to OÖN doctor Johannes Neuhofer (dermatologist), who oversees this column with a team of doctors: Clemens Steinwender (cardiologist), Reinhold Függer (surgeon), Rainer Schöfl (gastroenterologist), Josef Hochreiter (orthopaedist), Werner Schöny (psychiatrist).

E-mail: doktor@nachrichten.at