Tag Archive for: vertigo

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What Causes Vertigo?

What Causes Vertigo?

“What Causes Vertigo?” It’s a question we receive a lot at our clinic. The dizzy, spinny and falling symptoms can feel nauseating and interfere with your sleep and daily activities. The good news is that benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV (the most common type), can be easily assessed and treated, resulting in immediate and lasting relief. 

First, What Is Vertigo?

Vertigo is the term used to describe the sensation of moving or spinning when you are stationary. Vertigo is the symptom of an inner ear condition that results when tiny calcium carbonate crystals (canaliths) located in the utricle portion of your inner ear (that help control balance) shift out of place, causing the sensation of dizziness or motion. 

Vertigo symptoms can range from slight to severe and be fleeting, quickly resolving withoutWhat Causes Vertigo intervention, or more persistent, requiring help from a health practitioner. Vertigo symptoms can also be intermittent, with many people experiencing what they refer to as “vertigo attacks” that come and go following activity or illness. 

There are two primary types of vertigo as follows, and while they share things in common, each may have different causative factors and require different treatment approaches. 

Central Vertigo

Central vertigo is caused by an underlying condition such as Meniere’s disease, infection, or brain injury that affects the central vestibular structures (brainstem cerebellum, vestibular apparatus). 

Central vertigo typically presents as more pronounced and prolonged or as recurrent vertigo attacks that can last for several hours and are accompanied by other symptoms, including migraine headaches, nausea, tinnitus, hearing loss and the sensation of one or both ears feeling blocked. Central vertigo can also be so severe that suffers cannot walk or balance themselves. Treatment depends on causative factors. 

Peripheral Vertigo

Otherwise known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), peripheral vertigo is the most common type, accounting for over 90% of all causes of vertigo. Peripheral vertigo occurs when activities and head movement disrupt the crystals of the inner ear (the peripheral vestibular system). 

Peripheral vertigo symptoms can be slight or severe and last only a few seconds, a few days, several weeks, or be recurrent. Recurrent and prolonged episodes of vertigo can be triggered by several factors, some of which are similar to central vertigo. However, peripheral vertigo is when the cause of vertigo is isolated to disruption of the inner ear instead of being related to another underlying condition or head injury. 

When Vertigo Requires Emergency Attention

Vertigo symptoms accompanied by fever, pain, confusion, slurred speech, vision changes, or stupor require immediate medical attention to rule out potentially serious conditions.

What Causes Vertigo? Common Triggers

Sudden, recurrent and prolonged episodes of peripheral vertigo can be triggered by a number of factors, some of which are similar to central vertigo. The most common vertigo triggers include:

  • Shifts in head movement that can be as simple as rolling over in bed or tilting your head back and forward (head banging movements at rock concerts is one extreme example of head movements that can trigger a vertigo episode)
  • Following exposure to irregular movements, including being on a boat in rilling waves or following a ride at the fair
  • Head movements during leisure and athletic activities
  • A sudden blow to the head or a sudden shift in head movement due to impact
  • Head and neck injuries
  • Direct injury or infection of the vestibular system of the inner ear
  • Certain medications
  • Migraines
  • Age and hereditary factors
  • Fluctuation hormones, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy
  • Viral ear infections
  • Metabolic changes or nutrient deficiencies, including a lack of Vitamin D and calcium
  • (Aural vertigo) Cold water entering the ears when swimming or diving
  • (Alternobaric vertigo) Imbalanced ear pressure when ascending or descending while scuba diving
  • Allergies 
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Anxiety
  • Neurological disorders
  • Viral infections
  • Vestibular dysfunction
  • Vascular conditions
  • Multiple Sclerosis

What Causes Vertigo to Go Away on Its Own?

For some people, vertigo episodes that are slight and fleeting often disappear as quickly as they appear and resolve without medical treatment. Vertigo that resolves on its own can be a bout of motion sickness or a movement that causes the previously disrupted crystals of the inner ear to shift back into place. 

When Vertigo Doesn’t Resolve on Its Own

When vertigo symptoms become more bothersome, severe, recurrent or lingers, treatment is sought and sometimes necessary to relieve vertigo symptoms and prevent them from interfering with daily life and leisure. Treatment often involves specific head positioning maneuvers and exercises that help the calcium carbonate crystals of the inner ear to readjust and move back to their proper position. 

What to Do When Vertigo Symptoms Arise

While vertigo may not be entirely preventable, there are things you can do to manage the severity of vertigo symptoms when they occur. 

  • Immediately sit or lay down when you feel dizzy.
  • Sleep and nap with head slightly elevated.
  • Avoid stretching your neck when reaching for something.
  • Avoid tilting your head forward when bending over to pick things up — keep your head aligned as you squat to pick items up instead.
  • Move your head slowly during activity.
  • When getting up from laying down, rise slowly and stabilize yourself with something if you feel dizzy.
  • Always use handrails when taking stairs and escalators.
  • Utilize calming breathing techniques to avoid anxiousness.
  • Make an appointment with your GP if severe symptoms are accompanied by other symptoms such as headache, vision changes, confusion or fever.
  • Seek vertigo treatment with a local health practitioner such as our physiotherapist Jennifer Mildon and our chiropractor Doctor Caitlan Sellan at Diversified Health Clinic, located in downtown Victoria.

Effective Treatments for Relieving Vertigo in Victoria, B.C.

When vertigo symptoms strike, treatment can help. At Diversified Health Clinic, one our Physiotherapists, Jennifer Mildon, and one of our Chiropractors, Dr. Cailtan Sellan, both have a special interest and training in vestibular rehabilitation and vertigo treatments. You’ll be happy to know that benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is easy to assess and treat, often with only a few vestibular rehab sessions that can be performed whether or not you’re immediately experiencing vertigo symptoms. 

What to Expect from Vestibular Rehab Treatments

Your first session will include a thorough assessment followed by a series of manual repositioning techniques that help the crystals of your inner ear settle into their proper position. You’ll also be given personalized vestibular exercises you can perform at home between treatments to improve your balance and decrease vertigo symptoms when they occur.

Book Your Vertigo Assessment and Treatment Today

To arrange for an assessment and vertigo treatment, please call our clinic at (250) 382-0018 and request a vestibular session with Jennifer Mildon or Dr. Caitlan Sellan. You can also book online here. 

If you have questions about whether our vestibular rehab treatments are right for you, contact our clinic to request a free, no-obligation, 5-minute consultation. 

Important

On the day of your treatment, we kindly ask that you arrange travel plans so that you will not have to drive home after your session, and you are welcome to bring a friend or family member with you to your appointment. 

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Vertigo, BPPV and the Vestibular System

Vertigo, BPPV and the Vestibular System

Do you find yourself losing your balance, feeling dizzy or nauseous? You may be experiencing vertigo caused by issues with your vestibular system. You would also benefit from a targeted assessment to determine the causes of your symptoms using specific techniques and exercises to improve symptoms and get you feeling back to normal. 

The Vestibular System is found inside your inner ear and sends signals primarily to your brain stem. It is responsible for integrating sensory stimuli and movement and for keeping objects in visual focus as the body moves.

Issues With Your Vestibular System Can Cause Symptoms Such As:

  • Dizziness
  • Spinning sensation
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Lightheadedness
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Double vision
  • Impaired balance

Vertigo and dizziness are symptoms rather than a disease. Vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning or whirling that occurs due to a disturbance in your balance system. In addition, vertigo is used to describe feelings of dizziness, lightheadedness, faintness, and unsteadiness. Vertigo usually occurs because of a disorder in the vestibular system. The vestibular system is the structures of the inner ear, vestibular nerve, brainstem, and cerebellum. 

The Vestibular System

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common vestibular conditions. BPPV is rarely serious except for the possible increase in the chances of falling. BPPV is caused by the crystals in the inner ear becoming unstuck from their usual place and freely moving in one or more of the three ear canals that make up the inner ear. These ear canals are filled with fluid and tiny hair cells, and they tell our brain and eyes about the speed and direction we are moving. When the crystals get into these canals, they disrupt the fluids’ normal movement past the hairs, sending our brain confusing information that makes us feel the spins (vertigo). You may also feel your eyes moving funny as they vibrate side to side, referred to as nystagmus. 

Anyone can experience this in their lifetime; however, it is more common in people over the age of 50 and more common in women. Injuries to the balance organs of the inner ear, head trauma or whiplash can also cause BPPV. In addition to vertigo, other symptoms may include:

  • Dizziness
  • Imbalance
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

BPPV is typically unilateral, which means it occurs either in the left or right ear. Although, in more rare cases, it is bilateral, causing both ears to be affected. BPPV may be experienced for a very short duration, or it may last a lifetime, with symptoms occurring in intermittent patterns that vary by frequency, duration, and intensity. The most common cause of BPPV in people under the age of 50 is head injury and is presumed to result from a concussive force that displaces the otoconia. In people over 50 years of age, BPPV is primarily idiopathic, meaning it occurs for no known reason but is usually linked to natural age-related degeneration of the otolithic membrane. 

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Treatment

Sometimes, BPPV will go away on its own within a few weeks or months; However, the symptoms can be debilitating. At Diversified Health, our Vestibular Experts, Chiropractor, Dr. Caitlin Sellan and Physiotherapist, Jennifer Mildon, can treat you with an in-office particle repositioning procedure. This procedure consists of several simple and slow maneuvers for positioning your head. The goal of these movements is to move the particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals of your inner ear into a tiny bag-like open area that houses one of the otolith organs where these particles don’t cause trouble and are more easily resorbed. You will also be given home repositioning exercises to help maintain your treatment effect. In many cases, only 1-2 treatments are needed to resolve symptoms. 

What to Expect During Your BPPV Treatment

The procedure involves holding four positions for about 30 seconds each or for as long as you experience symptoms in that hold position. Once symptoms have stopped, your Vestibular Clinician will get you to stay in the position for an additional 30 seconds while watching your eyes for abnormal movements. The procedure may be repeated more than once within one treatment session. They may teach you how to perform the procedure yourself so that you can perform it at home as needed, although nearly 80% of people experience relief after the initial treatment. 

Contact our clinic today for more information on Vertigo-related treatments or to book with our Physiotherapist Jennifer Mildon or with our Chiropractor Dr. Caitlin Sellan who specializes in Vestibular treatments. Please contact us at 250-382-0018 or book online at www.diversifiedhealth.janeapp.com.

 

#physiotherapy #vertigo #balance #dizzy #chiropractor #victoriabc #balance #health #multidisciplinaryclinic #vestibular

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Vertigo Treatment

What is vertigo?

Vertigo is a particular type of dizziness that makes you feel like your environment is moving around you, and it is often accompanied with feelings of nausea. Vertigo and dizziness are symptoms that can be related to a variety of health issues, including cardiovascular disease, anxiety, neurological disorders, visual deficits, viruses, or vestibular dysfunction.

Vestibular Rehabilitation

Do you ever feel like the room is spinning around you, or do you feel dizzy and nauseous when you change positions and roll over in bed? Do you experience difficulty with balance or a fear of falling? If so, vestibular rehabilitation can help you.

What is the vestibular system?

The peripheral vestibular system involves the anatomy of the inner ear. Our inner ear detects static, linear, and rotational movements of our head. The vestibular system gives sensory information to our brain about where our body is in space, so it plays an important role in balance. It also communicates with our eyes, through the vestibulo-ocular reflex, to help stabilize our vision while our head is moving.

What is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)?

BPPV is a common, and very treatable, cause of vertigo which stems from the vestibular system. BBPV is when the crystals in the inner ear are dislodged and are free to move around inside the inner ear canals. The crystals move when your body changes position and they stimulate nerve cells that give your brain incorrect information about where your body is in space. This causes a sensation of vertigo, nausea, and abnormal eye movements. BPPV can easily be assessed and treated within only a few physiotherapy sessions. Since BPPV is benign, it can be assessed and treated at any time, even if you haven’t had an episode of vertigo that day. Treatment includes a variety of manual repositioning techniques, accompanied by a personalized home exercise program to improve your balance, decrease your symptoms, and increase your confidence to move through the world without fear of vertigo.

Who can help me?

Jennifer Mildon, one of our Physiotherapists at Diversified, has a special interest in vestibular rehab and has completed post graduate courses in Introductory and Advanced Vestibular Rehabilitation. If you experience any of the symptoms discussed above and are interested in having an assessment, please request a vestibular session with Jennifer when you contact the clinic. She kindly asks that you arrange travel plans so that you will not have to drive home after your session. You are welcome to bring a friend or loved one with you to your appointment. If you are still not sure whether or not vestibular rehab would benefit you, free five minute consultations are also available upon request. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

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