Have you ever been accused of being a dizzy person? Do you or someone you know suffer from the feeling that the whole world is spinning out of control? Have you ever wanted to learn about vertigo? Are you bored out of your mind looking for something to do? If you answered yes to any of these questions have I got good news for you! This article is just what you need!
Vertigo is the feeling of motion when a person is not moving. There are several causes of vertigo. Some causes are intentionally caused. Why would anyone do anything to make themselves dizzy? Isn’t life hard enough without being dizzy.
This article will focus on two common causes I’ve seen over the years that are easily diagnosed and treated. One cause is called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and the other is cervical vertigo.
Believe it or not, BPPV is actually caused by rocks rolling around in a person’s head. Granted they are very small rocks, but they cause some really big problems! I’ll get back to the rocks in a minute, but first let me ask you a question. Did you know that your ear does more than hearing? Have you ever wondered how you know you are moving when you can’t see anything? The feeling of motion you get in an airplane when you can’t see outside is coming from your ear.
The vestibular system is the part of your ear that gives you the ability to sense motion. The semicircular canals and vestibule are the two main parts of the vestibular system. Here is an image of the ear with all the major parts labeled.
The rocks in your head are located inside of the vestibule. These stones are called otoliths and when they stay in the vestibule everything is A-OK! However, when a otolith gets inside a semicircular canal the world starts spinning out of control. Check out this really cool video about how all this works.
Treatment of BPPV is very simple. Once BPPV is diagnosed, treatment is something anyone can do at home. Here is a quick clip showing treatment of the left ear.
Cervical vertigo is a dizziness that comes from incorrect messages from the neck to the brain due to the neck not functioning properly. Your brain gets messages from all the joints in your body and uses that information to tell you about balance and motion. When the upper part of the neck is not working correctly (crooked or stuck), the messages it gives to the brain do not correlate with the other messages the brain is receiving about balance and motion from the rest of the body. When these messages do not match up, vertigo is the result. This video is about a different cause of vertigo, but is does an excellent job of showing the principle I am writing about with cervical vertigo.
The treatment for cervical vertigo is correcting the function of the upper cervical spine. This is something I do here at my office. The treatment works very well.
The key to getting rid of vertigo is proper diagnosis. Once the cause is figured out, the treatment is straight forward. If you or one of your loved ones is suffering, I can help! Get on in here and let’s figure out what’s making you dizzy and fix it!
At this point you should feel a lot smarter than you did before you started this article. You have received a crash course on ear anatomy, physiology and psychopathology, along with the neurology of your body’s balance and motion systems! Congratulations!
I would love to answer any questions and read your comments. Just put them right below this article!
Thanks so much for this article! Just had a terrible couple of days this weekend with vertigo. I think mine may have something to do with my neck but I do have some congestion, ears feeling full and ringing. Will be in soon to see you!
Your welcome Jackie! I’m really happy that this was a help! That’s the whole reason I do this!
Darrell thank you so much for taking the time to do this research. Great information I will be checking it out. As I’ve said before you are AWESOME!!!!
Your welcome Chris!
Do not overlook the part a heart problem can play in the cause of vertigo. When I had the problem with vertigo last year was when I was diagnosed with bradycardia and the pacemaker was implanted.
Thanks Will. That’s a great comment. This is another great reason that finding the source of the vertigo is so important.
i am suffering from straightened cervical spine and dizziness and vertigo and the symptoms are persisting since last 25 days. i am feeling helpless as today i am experiencing severe backache alongwith above symptoms. please help me out.
dharmendra you need a good chiropractor! Did you try the motions for vertigo on the videos?
sir, thank you for kind attention and prompt response. could you please guide me further as i am at a far off locatio in india.also i am unable to search the video you have mentioned. i have been advised some exercises by my physio like rotating of shoulders, keeping the head still and pushing against the force of palm in all directions. i will be ever grateful to you for your kind advice.