We’ve all experienced a bout of dizziness at one time or another. Dizziness is when you feel faint, woozy or unsteady. The feeling you have when you stand up too quickly and feel unbalanced, or the feeling when you’re about to pass out is called dizziness. Feeling dizzy at times can be normal, but there is one relief care you can have to help you stop severe and recurring dizzy, without using prescription drugs. We’ll reveal and discuss more about it later in this article.
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Important Statistics on Dizziness
Dizziness is one of the leading causes of doctor visits and trips to the emergency room. In 2011, the reported emergency room visits due to dizziness or vertigo were nearly 4 million. Falling is a common result of dizziness, and elderly people are more prone to it due to neurological issues and chronic medical problems that come with aging.
As many as 40% of the population suffers from dizziness, imbalance, and vertigo. The incidents of falling are between 5% to 10% in people until the age of 40, and 25% in those over the age of 65. According to the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care, falls were 16.5%, and dizziness was 17.8% in those under the age of 80. In those over the age of 80, falls grew to 31.7%, and dizziness was at 31%.
As a disorder, dizziness is categorized into three types:
- Vertigo: The false feeling that you or your environment is spinning.
- Syncope: A temporary loss of consciousness like when you faint, or dimmed vision and feeling lightheaded, weak, and confused. You may get this if you stand up too quickly.
- Non-syncope, non-vertigo dizziness: An unbalanced feeling, and it may get worse with any movement.
Common Conditions with Dizziness as a Symptom
Meniere’s disease is one disorder associated with dizziness, vertigo, and hearing loss. This condition of the inner ear can disrupt the central nervous system. Migraines are another culprit for dizzy and are more prevalent than Meniere’s disease. Approximately 40% of people with migraines have vertigo, motion sickness, and mild hearing loss.
More conditions that may cause dizziness or vertigo include the following:
- Vestibular migraines or migraine-associated vertigo
- BPPV – benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
- Immune-mediated inner ear disease
- Vestibular neuronitis
- Brainstem or cerebellar vascular lesions
- Acoustic tumors
- Demyelination
How Doctors Identify Which Type of Dizziness You Have
When seeing a doctor about your dizziness, the first thing they do is take your detailed medical history and do a neurotologic test. Patient history is crucial and must contain important information such as the symptoms you experience, how long they persist, and what brings about or stops them. It would help if you could describe your state using more specific descriptions so the doctor can determine whether it is caused by vertigo, migraines, or other more severe conditions. Are you off-balanced, feel like your world is spinning, feel weak all over, falling frequently, or passing out?
Characteristics of Dizziness
Dizziness can be attributed to a problem in the central nervous system, cardiovascular or systematic disease, and can involve these things:
- Imbalance
- Unsteadiness
- Feeling light-headed
- Motion intolerance
- A floating or tilting sensation
Characteristics of Vertigo
Vertigo may be due to an issue in the vestibular system and most of the time involves an inner ear problem. Vertigo may give a false feeling of movement or spinning. The amount of time that your vertigo lasts should be explained well to your doctor.
- Episodic vertigo that persists for a few seconds and is initiated by moving your head in a certain position can be due to BPPV.
- Episodic vertigo that lasts for days and comes with nausea may stem from vestibular neuronitis, particularly if you have been exposed to a virus.
- Vertigo that is related to ear symptoms, including tinnitus and congestion in the ear, and stays for a few hours is likely a result of Meniere’s disease.
- Vertigo that strikes suddenly and goes away after a few minutes can be a result of a migraine or vascular or brain disease.
A Natural Solution for Dizziness and Vertigo
One natural relief care for dizziness that deserves more recognition is upper cervical chiropractic care. A prominent upper cervical chiropractor did a notable study. She observed 60 patients who had had vertigo and dizziness for eight years. After collecting each patient history, it was found that 56 of them had had at least one head or neck trauma before the onset of their vertigo or dizziness. These traumas were due to sporting accidents (horseback riding, skiing, cycling), car accidents, or fall from stairs or on icy pavement.
Results from radiography and imaging scans showed that all 60 had a subluxation or misalignment in the bones of their upper neck, specifically the C1 or C2 vertebra. Each patient received customized upper cervical care for their specific needs for six months. The results were incredible! Out of all 60, 48 saw the total remission of their symptoms. The rest reported fewer and less severe vertigo attacks.
Our practice here at Hejny Chiropractic uses a similar adjustment technique to the technique done in the study mentioned above. Our vertigo chiropractic clinic in Spring Lake Park, MN executes a gentle method that encourages the bones of the neck to realign naturally and remain in their proper position longer. If you worry about the loud popping or cracking of the bones, you can be assured that our procedure does not have any of that. If you regularly complain of dizziness or vertigo, visit our vertigo chiropractic clinic in MN and learn how we can help resolve your problem.
To schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Hejny, call our Spring Lake Park office at 763-230-0116. You can also 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.