What is Vertigo?
Vertigo is the sensation of motion, spinning or losing your balance that is often associated with looking down from a great height. When a person experiences vertigo symptoms while not at a great height, it is often believed that there is an issue with the inner ear or with the vestibular system of the body. There are two different primary types of vertigo, peripheral vertigo and central vertigo. Peripheral vertigo is usually due to an issue within the inner ear canal, the area of your body that controls your sensation of balance or an issue with the vestibular nerve itself. Central vertigo is slightly different as the location of the issue is inside the central nervous system, usually in the brain stem or cerebellum.
Peripheral Vertigo
There are multiple different things that can cause peripheral vertigo symptoms. Peripheral vertigo can be caused by certain medicines which injure the inner ear structures, can be caused by an injury to the head, can be caused by inflammation of the vestibular nerve (vestibular neuritis), or some other form of irritation and swelling or pressure on the inner ear such as an ear infection, or a disease caused Meniere’s disease. However, The most common cause of peripheral vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (aka BPPV). BPPV is an inner ear problem. BPPV occurs when small particles within the inner ear which are present in everyone, become loose and begin to float around in the fluid within the canals of your ear and brush against the fine hair-like sensors within the canals. When those particles hit the sensors, usually most commonly when you change positions quickly, such as going from lying down to sitting, or rapidly turning your head or looking up or down, those particles hitting the sensors makes the canal much more sensitive to head position changes that it normally does not respond to. This overwhelming unusual sensation causes dizziness and often a spinning sensation. Apart from a head injury or neck injury which can dislodge the particles, there is really no known cause for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.
Central Vertigo
Central vertigo is often caused by things which affect the central nervous system; certain drugs such as anticonvulsants, aspirin, and alcohol, as well as more systemic issues such as multiple sclerosis, seizures, and vestibular migraines. These can affect the signaling of the brain processing balance, as well as affecting blood flow and pressure.
What are vertigo symptoms?
Some of the most common symptoms of vertigo in addition to the usual experience of feeling dizzy, can be nausea, vomiting, trouble with balance, ringing in the ears, headaches, motion sickness, neck pain, hearing loss, uncontrolled movements of the eyes, and difficulty performing certain movements of the neck.
Often people with vertigo will find themselves trying to keep their body position centered in order to keep their spatial orientation stable and not flare up their symptoms of vertigo.
How is Vertigo Treated?
Vertigo is treated differently depending on the cause. Vertigo caused by inflammation of the inner ear or vestibular nerve will often be treated with medication. Vertigo caused by inner ear problem can often be treated by vestibular rehabilitation. Chiropractors and physical therapists can perform an Epley maneuver, or a canalith repositioning procedure which will help move the calcium particles away from the canals and instead into the area of the inner ear where they can be re-absorbed by the body.
How Does a Chiropractor Treat Vertigo?
Because of the neurological connection between the nervous system and the inner ear, often chiropractic care and adjustments of the neck in the upper cervical vertebrae can relieve pressure on the nerves of the neck which travel and carry signals to the inner ear, And often these chiropractic adjustments can help relieve pressure and relieve symptoms of vertigo by improving the ability of the nervous system to communicate with the brain. Often, improving this signaling helps provide patients improved balance, reduced symptoms of vertigo, and even reducing neck pain and overall improving health by helping the whole nervous system function properly.
Call your chiropractic office today and set up your first appointment and see how Chiropractic care can help you!
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