Archive for Vertigo
The Vertigo Treatment Your Doctor May Not Know About
Have you ever felt the room is spinning around you, making it difficult for you to stand ? If so, you are experiencing vertigo. Although most cases are short lived, sometimes vertigo persists. It can be caused by a number of issues, including inner ear disturbances, eye problems, brain pathology, infection or physical trauma.
Research into trauma-induced vertigo reveals that people who have had injuries to the head and neck, such as whiplash, are more likely to benefit from spinal adjustments.
One chiropractor reviewed 60 cases of chronic, trauma-induced vertigo that she treated over an 8-year period. Of these patients, 56 recalled having experienced trauma to the head and neck prior to developing symptoms. All these patients responded favorably to chiropractic adjustments to the upper cervical area. And 48 patients (80%) were completely symptom free after one to six months of chiropractic care.(1)
In another study, a research group followed 50 vertigo patients through orthopedic assessment, then treatment for their symptoms. Of the 50 patients, 31 were identified as having cervical spine dysfunction. The other 19 did not show signs of this problem. When the patients with cervical dysfunction were treated with manipulation and mobilization of the cervical spine, 24 patients (77%) improved, and 5 patients were symptom-free.
In another group-which did not receive manipulation because cervical spine dysfunction could not be identified- only five patients saw improvement (26%) and no one became symptom free. (2)
If you are having vertigo symptoms, your medical doctor may not be able to identify cervical spine dysfunction as the cause. They simply aren’t trained to look for it. Fortunately, you can get evaluated for it, to see if a certain type of chiropractic care can help.
For more information, log on to www.stopvertigonow.com
My Head Feels Heavy At The End Of The Day- What Can I Do?
The head is a large and heavy part of a person. In a child, the head can account for ¼ of their height. In the adult, the head weighs 10-14 pounds and this load has to be balanced by the strength of the neck muscles. In normal upright posture, there is a forward curve to the neck, and this curve provides the perfect balance between strength and mobility. Unfortunately this curve can be disrupted by whiplash and other traumas that damage the delicate ligaments and disks. This results in a straight or “military” neck.
When a person bends their head forward to read or type, the neck begins to straighten and the weight of the head must be countered by the pull of the muscles at the back of the neck. If the person does this all day, because they work at a computer for example, then the muscles never get a break. Knots, tightness or spasm of the muscles will increase and cause a neck ache. Because the muscles pull at the base of the head, the person may feel a tightness or pain around the head. These are the symptoms of what is called a tension-type headache.
Usually the shoulder muscles are also involved and tight. Over time this forward head posture can become more permanent and a “round back” may also develop. More than just bad appearance, poor posture causes the spinal cord and nerves to become stretched resulting in pain. Poor posture may also cause the spine to prematurely deteriorate, called degeneration, which results in thin disks.
Forward head posture and bad neck curves can be diagnosed by x-ray and by observing the patient from the side. If forward head posture is detected, it usually means there is some stretch to the ligaments.
The answer cannot be found in a bottle of pain pills. Although they can block pain, the consequences are quite severe. First, they mask the cause of the symptoms and lead the patient away from the actual cause of the head pain. In addition, pain pills can cause stomach bleeding and kidney damage when taken for long periods of time.
There are other causes for tension-type headaches and the ‘heavy” feeling of the head. Certain rare diseases and high blood pressure can also make the head hurt. This is why it is important to have the cause of your problem properly diagnosed. Chiropractic doctors have extensively studied both spinal problems that cause headaches, as well as the more rare diseases, which occasionally cause the same symptoms.
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Can Dizziness And Vertigo Be Caused By Dehydration?
Yes, dizziness and vertigo can be caused by dehydration. Your brain is made mostly of water. Your body is made mostly of water for that matter. When you don’t get enough water, it can alter brain and nerve function and sign of this happening is dizziness.
How do you know if you are dehydrated? Well, if you drink less than 64 oz. (2 liters) of water a day, you are dehydrated. 64 oz. of water is one half a gallon. That’s water. Not, juice, soda, coffee, milk, beer, tea or soup. Water. If you don’t drink enough water, your body can extract water from these drinks in order to save your life. But, in the long run, you will never get enough water to get you out of a dehydrated state. And, you will start to get symptoms.
If you exercise or work and sweat a lot, you will need even more water. In that case, take your body weight, divide it by two and that is the number of ounces of water you will need
every day. For example, I am 180 pounds, so I need 90 ounces of water a day, because I do work out and sweat.
Many people say to me “Well, I don’t feel thirsty, how can I be dehydrated ?” And, it can be kind of confusing. You see, when you have been dehydrated for a long time, your thirst mechanism shuts down. You don’t feel thirsty until your mouth is actually dry. It’s a strange phenomenon, but if you start drinking water regularly, your thirst mechanism comes back.
Drinking enough water is part of the treatment regimen I prescribe for dizziness and vertigo. If you suffer from one of these ailments, you should definitely try drinking more water. If that doesn’t take it away completely, the answer may be elsewhere and you may need a combination of therapies to get relief.
To find out more about how I treat dizziness and vertigo log on to www.stopvertigonow.com. Or call Jennifer at 262-251-8306 to schedule a free no obligation consultation where we can go over your situation and see if I can help.
What Causes Dizziness?
Dizziness or vertigo can be caused by many different problems. This is a very difficult condition to treat, because so many things cause it, and not many of these things show up clearly on tests.
Inner ear infections can cause many problems with balance. However, I find that this is often a misdiagnosis. How do you know if you’ve been misdiagnosed? Well, if you have taken a round of antibiotics, you show no other signs of infection and you are still dizzy, you probably don’t have an inner ear infection. In my opinion, you need to look elsewhere for the cause.
Dehydration is a very common cause of dizziness. Many people are dehydrated and don’t know it. This is caused by the massive consumption of soft drinks, orange juice, coffee and alcohol that make your body lose water. Dizziness can be a sign that your body has lost too much water and you need to address the issue.
Nerve interference in the cervical spine is by far the most overlooked cause of dizziness and vertigo. It is very common to have balance disorders after injury to the cervical spine. When the spine is injured, vertebra can misalign and nerves in the upper cervical area can be stretched or pinched. The nerves in this area carry signals to the brain that help it determine where you are in space. If the nerves are irritated, it can cause signals to be sent to the brain telling it you are somewhere you aren’t. You then get balance disorders.
Chiropractic adjusting can correct many cases of dizziness and vertigo by removing nerve interference in the upper cervical spine. When proper nerve function is restored, the positional sense is restored. And the crazy, out of control feelings stop.
To find out more about how we treat dizziness log onto www.stopvertigonow.com and order our free report.
Or, if you would like to sit down and talk to me about how I treat vertigo call 262-251-8306 and talk to Jennifer or Leah. They can set up a Free no-obligation consultation with me, we can talk about your situation and see if I can help.