Posts Tagged "dizziness"

Dizziness

Posted by Marc Croker | 0 comments

Dizziness, or vertigo, is a very debilitating symptom to suffer from. Many people with pain can simply put up with it and get on with their day however the feeling of dizziness can stop you dead in your tracks.  It is not easily ignored and many people are left to suffer with it for many years.

The most common causes of vertigo are middle ear infection, Meniere’s disease, and positional vertigo.  It is this latter cause that is the most responsive to chiropractic care.  Positional vertigo (also called Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) is triggered when the head is placed in a particular position and severe dizziness is felt until the head is moved into a different position.  Nystagmus (rapid involuntary movements of the eyes) also occurs with positional vertigo. It is often the result of head or neck injury that may not necessarily be traumatic in nature.  Anything that causes inflammation to arise in the upper cervical spine has the potential to cause dizziness.  It is thought that the reason for this is that there is irritation to the proprioceptors of muscles, tendons and joints in the neck which causes abnormal positional messages back to the brain effectively confusing the brain as to where the head is in space.

As the vertigo is triggered by neck movement, chiropractors find that restoring normal neck function by way of manipulation, massage and stretching, can significantly alleviate the dizziness symptoms.  The most common tissues involved in patients presenting with vertigo are the suboccipital muscles which are taut and tender to touch, and the facet joints of C12 and C23.  Of course the biggest concern that chiropractors have with regards to dizziness is that a rare cause of this disorder is vertebral artery insufficiency.  In this condition sudden strong rotational or extension movements of the neck can cause vertigo by reducing blood flow to the brain.  This can also give rise to stroke or stroke like symptoms.  As such it is imperative that vascular insufficiency be ruled out as a cause of vertigo.  This can be done by doppler ultrasound or to a lesser extent by a vertebral artery occlusion test.

Clinically many patients with vertigo respond very well to chiropractic care and are grateful for being able to live without this debilitating condition.  Positional vertigo does tend to recur in much the same way that headaches or general neck pain recurs due to the activities of daily living.

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Headaches

Posted by Marc Croker | 1 comment

Headaches and neck pain are two of the most common conditions that people go to chiropractors for…and we have become very good at getting rid of these debilitating conditions. Most types of headaches respond very well to chiropractic manipulation and massage.

In the majority of cases (excluding serious brain pathology / head trauma) headaches are a referrred pain condition from inflammation of cervical facet joints and spasm of neck and cranial muscles.  That is to say that treatment of inflammed and restricted upper neck joints and massage of the muscles around the base of the skull often provide relief from headache pain within a couple of visits.  As a result most headaches will completely resolve very quickly with treatment.

Headache pain can be localised to the upper neck or it can refer anywhere in the head, forehead, eyes or face.  A lot of patients complain of pain in and around their eyes and often around the forehead. It can be a general all over the head referral of pain or it can be specific to one spot on the skull.

Headaches, and especially migraines, can present with a range of neurological symptoms such as dizziness, blurry vision, light sensitivity, pins and needles, numbness, or simply pain (which can be dull and persistent, sharp and specific, or throbbing with visual and auditory symptoms). They can give nausea, vomiting, tiredness, vertigo, tinnitus, or the inability to think clearly. And they can make you very grumpy.

Headaches can often be related to problems lower in the spine. Pelvic tilt/rotation and/or spinal scoliosis will ultimately work its way up to the end of the spinal column and strain the neck. Thus long term correction of headaches must address the integrity of the entire spinal column.

Dehydration is a major cause of headache. This can be from lack of fluids, excessive physical activity, too much alcohol, or too much caffeine. Correcting spinal joint dysfunction must be combined with appropriate dietary considerations in order to be effective in the long term. Some people also suffer from food intolerance which can cause headaches.

Stress is a major player in causing headaches. This usually takes the form of too much work in too short a time frame. It is not necessarily difficult work or difficult circumstances. It can also result from emotional stress from family or relationship problems or financial problems. Stress management techniques need to be learned to prevent health problems.

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