Vertigo is an idiosyncratic feeling of environmental movement, which can vary from mild, passing episodes to severe, prolonged attacks. Vertigo sufferers experience dizziness continuously, and it can sometimes last for hours or days on end. These attacks generally come out of nowhere. Vertigo is often associated with nausea, malaise, vomiting, tinnitus (ear ringing), hearing loss, and pressure in the ears.
What Exactly Is Vertigo?
People who suffer from vertigo experience dizzy spells and feel off-balance, as if their surroundings are swaying, spinning or moving. For these people, it is a challenge to keep their balance when performing everyday tasks. Many people misinterpret what vertigo is. Vertigo is not the condition, but rather a symptom of a condition. A feeling of dizziness is usually your body’s way of notifying you that something is not right.
Vertigo is most regularly happening with older adults, but it can have an effect on both sexes at all ages.
What Conditions Can Vertigo Be A Symptom Of?
Vertigo is mostly a sign of an issue occurring in a part of your body that regulates your balance and orientation. It may be a symptom of:
- Damage to your inner ear.
- Damage to spinal ligaments or joints.
- A partial dislocation or misalignment of a vertebrae in your neck.
- Severe brain damage due to a tumor or a stroke (in rare cases).
What Is The Cause For Vertigo?
Vertigo can be due to a viral infection of your inner ear or as a result of trauma to the neck or head. When a person was involved in a traumatic event like a ski or bike accident, the upper neck vertebrae in his neck may have misaligned, staying in a stressed position. The neck injury has an effect on the normal transmission of information between his brain and spinal cord, which results in symptoms like vertigo. It often happens that a patient experiences neck pain and headaches due to the same injury. The symptoms of such an accident may only appear after months or even years have passed. The appropriate correction of the neck injury performed by an Austin chiropractor can eradicate vertigo and the linked symptoms.
How can a chiropractor assist?
- Chiropractic is considered as an excellent treating option for certain types of vertigo. The treatment will be contingent on what the dizziness is a symptom of.
- One treatment option will include adjusting by targeting the joints which aren’t moving as they should. In your upper neck, incoherent motion patterns can result in misguided information about your body movement and position being communicated from the joints to your brain. A mere adjustment can correct the issue.
- When the issue is with relation to your inner ear, the chiropractor may perform an Epley Maneuver which consists of repositioning misplaced bony particles (otoconia) to the correct positions in your inner ear. Another option is prescribing specific exercises that target the inner- ear (vestibulocochlear) system.
After the initial assessment, your chiropractor will determine the best course of treatment to alleviate the symptoms of vertigo.