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.
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.
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.
I have been dealing with vertigo and dizziness. I woke up one night with a violent attack of vertigo after I turned my head. I went to my Dr and they said I had fluid in my ear but no infection. I had been feeling a need to pop my ear before this happened. I also have upper cervical issues. I see a upper cervical Dr and a chiropractor. I have been adjusted but still feeling lingering dizziness since the violent vertigo attack. Seems to be worse when I lay down. I have been sitting up to sleep. Could my neck problems be causing fluid build up in my ear which is causing vertigo/dizziness? I had torticolis as a kid and had surgery in 8th grade so have always had neck issues. In my 20s I devoped a neck jerk as well. Kind of like a tremor. My medical Dr is giving me nose spray and steroids but would really like to know the cause so I can fix it. It is affecting my daily life right now. I did do the foster move the day I had vertigo but became so dizzy I couldnt hold the 2nd position for 30 seconds. It was bad. Not sure bppv is my issue or not. What can I do to to find out what the problem is? Drs guess but they arent really sure.
Brandi if you did the “foster move” and it made you worse then you have to keep working at it. The issue is the inner ear and if you keep at it things should resolve. It may take a week of doing the maneuver before it is gone.
Let me know how it goes.
How do I know its BPPV and not something else? Doesnt that move only work if it’s BPPV? Would my ear have fluid if its that? I know I certainly dont want to bring it on if that’s not the cause. Its terrible!
If the maneuver affects it then you have your diagnosis. Your need to keep working at it to get the otoliths back in the vestibule.
Thanks for this information. I have given it to two people today and I hope to have a positive report in the coming days! Thank you!!!!!
Cervical Vertigo – I have extreme to severe narrowing in C3, C4,C5. I have had a great deal of pain for more then 2 years in my neck & back. I now have been seeing chiro regular and they are adjusting using an adjuster not cracking my bones. Vertigo I find is better and so is the pain but i am too scared to roll on my right side or lay on my back just in case I set off another episode. Is there any hope to have it permanently gone and if so how?