Chiropractic Treatment for Vertigo

If you've suffered head or neck trauma from an injury, accident, or prolonged poor posture, you may have experienced a bout of vertigo or dizziness. While vertigo is more common among the elderly, it can affect all ages equally and is often an early symptom of an inner ear or neurological problem.

Dizziness is typically used as a blanket term that includes symptoms like vertigo, unsteadiness, nausea, sweating, fatigue, headaches or light-headedness which can have many underlying factors. Vertigo itself is a feeling of spinning while stationary. Thus it's important when describing your symptoms to your health professional to make the distinction clear to receive the correct treatment for your symptoms.

Luckily dizziness and vertigo are treatable conditions in most cases. Let's break down the root origin of vertigo and how Chiropractic care may help alleviate your vertigo symptoms.

Peripheral Nervous System Vertigo:

Your peripheral nervous system is the portion of your nervous system that consists of the nerves and connections outside of your brain and spinal cord. Vertigo stemming from your peripheral nervous system may include:

• BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)
• Acute Vestibular Neuronitis
• Labyrinthitis
• Meniere's Disease

While neuronitis and labyrinthitis are related to infections of the vestibular nerve and subside within days, BPPV and Meniere's disease have longer life cycles. Meniere's disease affects the inner ear which can cause episodes of spinning, tinnitus, ear pressure, and fluctuations in hearing with a progression to permanent hearing loss. BPPV on the other hand, causes intense dizziness typically triggered by changes in the position of your head and is usually associated with blows to the head, disorders of the inner ear, natural ageing or severe colds.

Chiropractic treatment uses gentle manipulation and simple well-tolerated adjustments to utilize the natural force of gravity for movement of calcium carbonate crystals in the inner ear. With about 3-4 treatments, symptoms may significantly improve or disappear.

Central Nervous System Vertigo:

Your CNS or central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord encased in the skull and spinal vertebrae. Vertigo caused within the CNS presents alongside neurological symptoms such as headaches, sensory symptoms or auras. Vertigo stemming from the CNS include:

• Migraines
• Cervicogenic Vertigo
• Multiple Sclerosis

The intensity of migraines may cause dizziness and nausea, and chiropractic treatment may help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks and their associated symptoms. Not sure if you suffer from migraines? Take a look at our breakdown of headache types.

Cervicogenic vertigo on the other hand, is associated with neck pain or injury, and symptoms present with neck movement that may include ear pain. As cervicogenic vertigo comes from vascular compression or abnormal input from neck proprioceptors, Chiropractic treatment may alleviate the symtoms by manipulating the neck to release tension and compression.

Multiple Sclerosis is a central nervous system disease affecting the immune system that presents with scar tissue plaques forming on neurons causing interference with nerve signal transmission. Vertigo and dizziness in MS occur when these plaques affect the brain stem or cerebellum, areas of the brain that control balance. Though Chiropractic treatment does not directly influence MS, treatment may help with fatigue, movement range and increased endurance.
 

Book your appointment today with Dr. Lanoeu to discuss your symptoms and begin treating your vertigo symptoms with Chiropractic care.