The feeling that you or your surroundings are spinning even when your holding still is called vertigo. As many as 69 million people have experience vertigo at least once in their lives, yet only 50% of all vertigo cases have verified clear causes. What many people don’t know is that vertigo can be linked to a problem in the bones of the upper cervical spine. Another common cause of vertigo is the reason behind benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and we’ll elaborate more about it in this article.
Shedding Some Light on the Underlying Cause of Vertigo
A 2006 study showed essential facts about the underlying cause of vertigo. The research involved 60 vertigo patients, and it was revealed that 56 of them could recall having a physical trauma before the beginning of their vertigo. They got the damage from events such as the following:
- Skiing accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Horseback riding injuries
- Vehicle accidents
- Tripping and falling
- An injury that involved the head or neck
The result of the study has demonstrated a correlation between an injury to the neck and vertigo. Later we’ll explain more about how this happens. First, let’s go through some more information about vertigo and the symptoms associated with it.
Explaining Vertigo
Vertigo generates short episodes of dizziness that can range from mild to severe intensity. Moving your head can trigger or worsen vertigo, like tipping your head forward or backward, rolling over in bed, getting up suddenly from a lying position, or lying down. Although it is usually nothing serious, vertigo can be deadly if it occurs in a dangerous situation like when you are driving a car or on a high ladder.
Signs and Symptoms of Vertigo
Here’s a list of some of the common symptoms of vertigo. These vertigo symptoms usually come and go and last for less than one minute. Sometimes they may disappear and then reappear.
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- Dizziness: The feeling is comparable to spinning around fast until you feel dizzy. That may be fun when you are a kid, but when you’re a grown up and driving to work, the experience can be unpleasant and dangerous.
- Feeling unbalanced or unsteady: Vertigo sufferers may feel weakness in their legs or have lost the ability to walk straight. Picture walking on a balance beam and holding each steady step foot over foot. People living with vertigo often feel off balance and would not be able to take a single step without falling off.
- Nausea: It is considered one of the severest symptoms of vertigo. The sensation could feel like you need to vomit but cannot. The idea of food is distressing. It is difficult to ride in a car or even look at movement on a computer screen. One treatment you can do at home to find relief is drinking peppermint tea.
- Vomiting: Often accompanied by nausea, vomiting can be forceful and painful. It usually lasts for a few minutes and less than a few hours.
- Migraine or headache: After nausea and dizziness, a headache is soon to follow. Be prepared before it happens. Drink enough water and get some rest in a cool dark room. Put a cold washcloth on the back of your neck or forehead to ease the migraine or headache.
- Tinnitus: This is an abnormal ringing, roaring, or hissing noise in the ears. It may occur in one or both ears. Zinc supplements and limiting your salt intake are beneficial home remedies for tinnitus.
- Sweating: Profuse sweating can go along with dizziness. Prepare for this by drinking an adequate amount of water.
- Loss of coordination: As you lose your sense of balance, you also lose your ability to coordinate body movement. Vertigo patients become clumsy, fall easily, drop things, trip, slip, or find it hard to do basic tasks they usually perform. Avoid driving or lifting anything heavy until the feeling passes.
- Eye twitching: The build-up of fluid in the inner ear causes other functions inside the head to go amiss. Vertigo sufferers may experience eye muscle spasms, twitching, and itching. It helps to put a cold cloth on your eyes for a few minutes.
When to Get Emergency Care
Vertigo is rarely life-threatening. However, it is best to seek the care of a doctor or specialist if your vertigo goes together with any of the following:
- An abnormal or a severe headache
- Weakness in the arms or legs
- Numbness or tingling
- Problems walking or falling
- Loss of vision or seeing double
- Trouble talking
- Fever
- Loss of consciousness
- Loss of hearing
Natural Vertigo Relief Through Correct Spinal Alignment
One research-backed cause of vertigo is a misalignment in any of the bones of the upper cervical spine. The C1 and C2 vertebrae are in the top of the neck and protect the brainstem from damage. If you have had an accident in the past that injured your head or neck, one of these bones may become misaligned. This puts the brainstem under strain and can cause it to relay incorrect signals to the brain. Eventually, it leads to the symptoms of vertigo.
Here at Symmetry Health Chiropractic Center in Cedar Park, Texas, we help our patients get rid of their vertigo symptoms through upper cervical chiropractic care. We use a gentle yet accurate method of adjusting the bones of the neck. We based our adjustments on specific measurements concerning the angle of the misalignment.
Remember the study we mentioned above? After the participants had gone through chiropractic care, they reported successful outcomes in their vertigo symptoms. One patient who had been suffering for 37 years became vertigo-free after only a few adjustments.
Book a consultation with us to learn more about how we can help you towards healing.
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If you are outside of the local area you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.