Hello and welcome to my Blog.
Following on from my previous blogs about concussion and head injures (Part 1 and Part 2) I thought I would write about another, sometimes related condition, vertigo.
Part 1 of this blog will discuss the types of vertigo, the symptoms and some possible causes.
Part 2 will give simple tests for your balance. Explain why you may lose your balance, especially in the dark, and how Kinesiology can help with coping and recovering from vertigo.
I have found that quite often, many of my clients who have sustained a head injury have then gone on to suffer from attacks of vertigo and poor balance in general.
Just to be clear on what vertigo is and is not. Some people suffer from a fear of heights or a fear of falling. When looking down from a height they get dizzy, anxious and afraid and feel like they are falling forward….. They often describe this as vertigo. This sensation is not vertigo. It is called acrophobia. And it is quite different from vertigo.
There are two Main types of vertigo
Peripheral vertigo usually occurs when there is a disturbance in the vestibular apparatus in the inner ear or its connecting vestibular nerve.
The vestibular apparatus enable messages to be sent to the brain in response to gravity. It tells the brain when there is movement from the vertical position. This is what enables people to keep their balance when they stand up. Disturbance to this system produces vertigo.
Central vertigo is linked to problems with the central nervous system.
It usually involves a disturbance to either the brainstem or the cerebellum.
These parts of the brain deal with the interaction between a person's perception of vision and balance.
There is a newly discovered, third type of vertigo called recurrent spontaneous vertigo – As of the time of writing this article, it has no known cause.
The test is for this is done by a neurologist and measures eye movement after certain kinds of head movement in the dark.
Neurologists also found that people with the new type of vertigo were more likely to have severe motion sickness than those with other types of vertigo.
The symptoms of vertigo are, spinning, rocking or moving, or as if the world is spinning around them. Sometimes it can feel like you are falling.
As an example, you may be sitting at a table and out of nowhere the whole world suddenly tips on its side and you grab the table to stop yourself falling out of your seat.
Attacks of vertigo can last from a couple of minutes to hours. It is an overwhelming and intensely unpleasant experience, and it is often accompanied by other symptoms, including:
• nausea
• vomiting
• looking pale
• sweating
There are several causes of vertigo, some include:
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV occurs when tiny calcium particles clump together in the part of the inner ear that helps control our balance, affecting the messages sent from your inner ear to your brain.
Other causes of vertigo include: head injuries, strokes, circulation problems, infections, inner ear disorders, and the degeneration of inner ear structures. Inner ear problems include Meniere’s disease, vestibular neuritis (inflammation of one of the nerves to the inner ear) and labyrinthitis (inflammation of the inner ear resulting from infection), Multiple Sclerosis.
Condition that causes problems with the balance mechanism in your inner ear (the vestibular apparatus), the brain stem or cerebellum can cause vertigo.
Migraine headaches can also cause vertigo – up to a quarter of people who have migraines experience vertigo. Vertigo is also reported as a side effect of many medicines.
It is easy to see that head injuries, the blow to the head, whiplash, or a fall can be severe enough to disrupt the vestibular system or central nervous system, causing poor balance and vertigo.
It is extremely important that you seek medical attention for vertigo. As well as the vertigo, there could be a related, underlying issue that may need attention. For example; infections, mild strokes or a neural disorder. These need to be identified or ruled out by a Medical Doctor.
In Part 2 of this blog I will give simple tests for your balance, explain why you may lose your balance, especially in the dark. And, how Kinesiology can help with coping and recovering from vertigo.
My name is Martin Carson. I am a Professional Kinesiologist with more than 10 years experience .I am passionate about help people recover from these conditions..
If you have suffered a blow to the head or are a parent of a child involved in contact sports and you are concerned about ongoing effects, then please contact me for more information.