Vertigo: Do You Have It and How to Stop It

Vertigo is the strange experience of feeling as though you or the world around you is spinning, even though you and the environment around you are actually standing still. It could be compared to the same sensation you get when a car beside you is moving, confusing your mind that you are the one moving. Vertigo happens as a result of a malfunction in the balance nerves or when they are alerted to a problem. The terms vertigo and dizziness are often used interchangeably, but they are in fact two entirely different things.

Dizziness is a feeling that originates from inside you. However, vertigo seems more as if it comes from an external force. The effect is an actual physical feeling of moving or spinning, without any way to end the experience. Dizziness feels like spinning inside of your head, that can usually be resolved by sitting down and resting for a bit or goes away in a short while. Knowing the differences between these feelings is important so that your doctor will be able to properly diagnose you based upon your description.

How Serious Is Vertigo?

A vertigo episode is debilitating, forcing you to lie down and wait for it to pass before you can continue to go about your daily life. Depending on when the attack occurs, you may not have the ability to get to your bed, causing you to have to lie down right where you are, and sometimes even fall down suddenly. These are called drop attacks, and they usually come along with a few other side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and sweating. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to predict when an attack of vertigo will occur, which leads many vertigo sufferers to just stay at home to avoid an attack at an inopportune time, or worse, in a dangerous situation. For example, driving a car or climbing a ladder both put someone who has vertigo attacks at risk for serious injury.

Vertigo is one of the main symptoms of Meniere’s disease. Typical episodes of Meniere’s include the following:

• Vertigo
• A drop attack
• Hearing loss
• Tinnitus – ringing or other noise in the ear

The episode may be over in a few minutes or several hours. You may experience an episode once a week, a few times a month, or twice a year. The experience is different for everybody with Meniere’s disease, but for every individual, it is usually very frustrating.

When Is Vertigo Actually Meniere’s Disease?

Meniere’s disease is challenging to diagnose with no test to confirm or deny that Meniere’s is what’s behind your vertigo. The Mayo Clinic has outlined certain criteria for Meniere’s:

• At least two episodes of vertigo lasting at least 20 minutes but no longer than 24 hours
• Hearing loss confirmed by a hearing test
• A feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear
• Tinnitus
• The exclusion of any other condition with similar symptoms

The last description listed above is vague enough to cause you to scratch your head a bit. Doctors themselves have a difficult time diagnosing Meniere’s and sometimes a diagnosis is given as an easy catch-all. The actual disease of Meniere’s affects a mere 0.2% of the population. Based upon a study on cardiovascular health from the Framingham Heart Study, there was found 1,000 times that number (2%) who thought that they had Meniere’s. Many of them were told they had Meniere’s by their doctor, who was perhaps too quick to make the diagnosis.

Other Reasons for Experiencing Vertigo

There are conditions other than Meniere’s disease that have vertigo as a symptom. Here is a brief list:

• Migraine-associated vertigo (MAV): Just as disabling as Meniere’s, but MAV is not accompanied by hearing loss and is also around 15 times more common than Meniere’s.
• Strokes
• Multiple sclerosis
• Tumors
• Vestibular neuritis: An inner ear problem
• BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo): Induced by certain head movements that shift tiny crystals in the ear and cause vertigo. It is the most common cause of vertigo.
• Certain medications
• Head or neck injury

A Natural Option for Relieving Vertigo

With the use of an upright MRI machine, it has been found that a misalignment of the C1 (atlas) and C2 (axis) can result in an interruption of cerebrospinal fluid flow to and from the brain. This liquid cushions the brain, but when it is prevented from leaving the brain, it will collect due to improper drainage. Vertigo is only one of the problems that could result from a blockage of this kind.

The upper cervical spine includes the top bones of the neck: the atlas and axis. These bones are uniquely designed to both house and protect the brainstem at the junction where it meets the spinal cord. The brainstem acts as a message board for all incoming and outgoing messages from body and the brain. This includes signals that communicate to the brain where the body is located in its environment.

If a person experiences a trauma to the head or neck, this can cause an injury to the neck, leading to a misalignment to the atlas and axis bones. Something else that can happen is a lesion can start to grow on the eustachian tube, which could result in vertigo and Meniere’s disease eventually. This connection is often overlooked by doctors because it can take as long as 15 years for the lesion to form. This is why, when a patient does refer to a trauma from previous years, doctors are likely to dismiss this as not related to the vertigo that is currently a problem.

Upper cervical chiropractors are specially trained, not only to be aware of this type of connection but also to focus on the issues that can develop from a misalignment in the bones of the upper neck. The method we use is both gentle and precise to encourage the bones to move back into place. We never use force by popping or cracking the spine. There is much evidence that by correcting the misalignment of the upper neck this way, vertigo improves or resolves itself completely.

To schedule a consultation with Upper Cervical Chiropractic San Diego, call 858-434-5926 or just click the button below.

If you are outside of the local area you can find an Upper Cervical Doctor near you at www.uppercervicalawareness.com.