Dealing with Cervicogenic Dizziness by Reducing Anxiety

Dizziness of the neck is an imbalance caused by abnormal afferent movements of the neck. People with CD often complain of vertigo, head movements accompanied by neck pain and headaches can exacerbate vertigo. Cervicogenic dizziness was originally introduced as vertigo of the neck. If you are anxious, neck dizziness may occur. The vestibular system plays a role in detecting the position of the body and the surrounding motion. The vestibular system includes the inner ear on both sides, specific areas of the brain and the nerves that connect them. This system may cause dizziness if problems occur.

 

If the vestibular system is abnormal, symptoms of vertigo may occur. If there is already a tendency to worry, vertigo and anxiety in the vestibular system may interact and symptoms may worsen. Most times, anxiety and vertigo treatments take place together to improve the patient’s health.

 

Get involved with physical therapy programs

The goal of this treatment is to make the vestibular system work as much as possible and treat symptoms of vertigo in an environment that causes anxiety. The patient will control vertigo and improve their learning abilities to control symptoms by stimulation. Stimulation does not make the symptoms uncontrollable because it pauses and acts to provoke the symptoms.

 

Stay hydrated throughout

Dehydration can cause dizziness. The body needs about eight cups of fluids a day. This includes all liquids, but water is the best choice because it is pure and does not contain substances that can be harmful. Diuretics increase the amount of water so that the salt of the body turns into urine.

 

Consider Aromatherapy for your anxiety

Some people think meditation and aromatherapy can significantly relieve anxiety. There are many studies on the effectiveness of aromatherapy as a way to relieve anxiety. Studies have shown that we can use a blend of Roman essential oils including lavender to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality.

 

Seek help from professionals

In today’s world, acceptance and understanding of mental health is growing. In addition, self-help and personal care are more important. There is nothing wrong with this: talk to a health professional and find the right medication that suits you best, there is nothing abnormal with that.

 

Consider changing your lifestyle

If medical drugs do not solve the problem of vertigo, it may be necessary to try different ways of changing one’s lifestyle. These changes can be as simple as drinking more water to stay hydrated, or lying down when you feel stunned. Other non-alcoholic fluids are also advisable.

 

Have some Ginger tea

It reduces the effects of vertigo on manual re-positioning. You can immerse the ginger root in boiling water for a few minutes. You can use honey to sooth the bitterness. Drinking ginger tea twice a day can reduce dizziness, nausea and other symptoms of vertigo.

 

Be Mindful

This can be useful as part of a comprehensive program designed to reduce cognitive-behavioural therapy-based rotation, including an understanding of your breathing and thoughts, and other simple techniques. Remember, it is possible to diagnose cervicogenic dizziness.

How to cope with migraine

Migraine can be a debilitating and distressing condition. Anyone who suffers from this painful condition knows that it can negatively affect their life and strike at any time. However, there are many steps that a sufferer can take that may alleviate, or even fend off completely, a migraine attack.

Why do I get migraine?

Understanding why you get migraine is important to be able to take steps in controlling it. One way of finding out what causes your migraine is to keep a journal that records events that may have contributed in causing it. When you have a migraine attack write in your journal the following details:

• Time and date of the attack.
• Food and drink consumed over the last 24 hours.
• Time of going to sleep and waking.
• Duration of the migraine headache.
• Where you were and what you were doing.

These are important factors for your health care provider to take into consideration. Our team of consultants here at Ealing Chiropractor are dedicated to helping alleviate and manage your condition. Having as much detail on the possible causes can greatly increase the chances of success in controlling, reducing and even stopping the migraine symptoms.

Steps you can take

Once you have begun to understand what the possible triggers for your migraine headaches are, then it is possible to take steps in reducing or removing these triggers. A healthy lifestyle, such as a regular sleep pattern and eating the right foods, can greatly reduce the frequency and severity of attacks.

Sleep

• Keep a regular sleep pattern and try to avoid long naps in the day that may disrupt this pattern.
• Learn how to relax properly. Some people find meditation techniques or even listening to calming music or reading a book can help. Stress can play a big part in causing migraine, so knowing how to relax and reduce stress is very important.
• Television, computers and smartphones are becoming more prevalent in our world today but they can disrupt our normal waking hours. Try to avoid looking at a computer display or screen for at least an hour before sleeping.

Diet

Diet can be one of the key factors in the cause of migraines, not only the food you eat but the times that you eat.

• Regular meal times can help avoid a migraine headache.
• Reducing your caffeine intake, particularly before sleep, can help.
• Avoiding any foods that you suspect may be triggers is very important.
•  Alcohol and cigarettes are common triggers of migraine headaches. If you can cut these out you may greatly reduce you symptoms and stay healthier at the same time!

Reducing symptoms

• When a migraine headache starts, try to find somewhere calm and dark to rest and relax.
• Drinking water is one good way of reducing the symptoms
• Place a cool damp cloth on your head.

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness – Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is both a common cause of dizziness in those aged 30-50 and a common diagnosis in people who experience vestibular (inner ear) symptoms. PPPD can significantly affect normal daily functioning and quality of life, but now there’s hope. With dizziness treatment, you can get back to your normal activities.

The story of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness

In the 1980’s, a pair of scientists began to study a phenomenon they referred to as phobic position vertigo (PPV). In the early 2000’s, a group of scientists continued study of the condition, refining and updating the criteria.

In 2014, new diagnostic criteria were established, and the condition was given the more specifically descriptive name Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD). The World Health Organization (WHO) has added PPPD to the list of updates for the upcoming 2017 revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

Symptoms of PPPD

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness is defined by feelings of dizziness or unsteadiness that may occur without vertigo and occur most days for at least three months. Some people may experience occasionaldays without symptoms, while others will experience symptoms every day. The symptoms are typically worse on standing or sitting, with motion of the head or body, or when the sufferer is exposed to environments with lots of visible motion.

Factors that can worsen PPPD symptoms

A bout of dizziness from PPPD can occur at random, but more often occurs in response to aggravating factors or motions, including head movement (either active or passive), sudden movement, moving into an upright position, or viewing complex moving visual stimuli.

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness diagnosis

Physical exams, lab testing, and neuroimaging cannot be used to diagnose PPPD directly, though these diagnostic tools are often used to rule out other conditions as causes of dizziness. Rather, PPPD is diagnosed based on symptoms of unsteadiness or dizziness that may be constant or intermittent, but occur at least most days over a period of 90 days or more.

Causes of PPPD

Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness is a chronic condition that may result from vestibular disturbances including vestibular neuritis, vestibular migraines, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or by a number of other medical or psychiatric conditions that can affect the vestibular system.

Treatments for Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness

While large scale studies are limited, a number of small scale studies suggest some treatment options may be effective at alleviating the symptoms of PPPD. Two of the most promising treatments are medication and Vestibular Balance Rehabilitation Therapy.

Medication – Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs such as Cymbalta) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs such as Prozac) may help ease dizziness.

Vestibular Balance Rehabilitation Therapy (VBRT) – VBRT seeks to ease dizziness with exercises and maneuvres designed to desensitize the patient to movement as well as to stabilize gaze and improve balance and gait. It can take 3-6 months of regular therapy for VBRT to provide maximum relief.

If you are suffering from dizziness that may be caused by PPPD, call Brain Hub on on 1300 770 197 today to arrange an appointment to find out if dizziness treatment can help you.

Treatment for Vertigo

Vertigo is a common complaint among patients seeking chiropractic treatment, especially vertigo that arises after trauma.  Vertigo is a sometimes debilitating sensation of spinning and may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sweating, fatigue, or headache.

There are many possible causes of vertigo, but most of them are easily treated.  Effective treatment depends on accurate diagnosis, so your chiropractor will perform a thorough exam, including comprehensive medical history and positioning tests such as the Dix-Hallpikemanoeuvre  that can help pinpoint the cause by examining how your body reacts to certain movements and positions.

If your vertigo is accompanied by certain other symptoms, including weakness, drowsiness, headache, clumsiness, uncontrolled movement, abnormal eye movement, or unusual behavior, you may be referred to a neurologist for further assessment, as these may indicate a more serious neurological condition such as stroke, tumour, or multiple sclerosis.

Perhaps the most common cause of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.  It typically resolves itself in a few weeks or months, but often recurs.  While it can occur in patients of all ages, BPPV is most often seen in older individuals.

BPPV is most often caused by calcium crystals in the inner ear.  These can be caused by:

• head trauma or whiplash
• cold or other viral infection
• minor stroke
• certain medications
• formation of calcium deposits in the inner ear
• advanced age

While symptoms of BPPV are often treated with sedative medications such as prochlorperazine, these can make you very drowsy and have a number of other side effects.  In many cases, vertigo can be more effectively treated by a chiropractor using repositioning techniques such as the Epleyor SemontManoeuvres.  These techniques are intended to shift the calcium deposits to a less sensitive part of the inner ear.  Vestibular exercises may also be recommended to help you avoid recurrence.

Other causes of vertigo include:

• Problems with the central or peripheral nervous system, including Meniere’s disease, labyrinthitis, and acute vestibular neuronitis in the peripheral nervous system, and cervicogenic vertigo, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and acoustic neuroma in the central nervous system
• Symptoms of certain conditions, including food allergies and sensitivities, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, and blood pressure that is too high or low
• Side effects of many medications, including antidepressants, antibiotics, antineoplastics, antihypertensives, diuretics, sedatives, hypnotics, antibiotics, cold medicines, and aspirin

While patients with certain conditions, such as cervical spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, or carotid stenosis should not undergo these manoeuvres, they are highly effective in most cases.  Approximately 80% of patients see significant relief after just one session, while most of the remaining patients see significant relief after only a couple of additional sessions, with only approximately 15% of patients experiencing a recurrence of vertigo.

No matter the cause of vertigo, certain lifestyle changes can help alleviate the problem.  Limit your consumption of alcohol, salt, and fried foods, and don’t smoke.  Get some exercise and enough sleep, and reduce your stress level.  If you experience vertigo associated with migraine, you will also want to avoid migraine triggers as much as possible.

If you have a condition that may contraindicate these manoeuvres, or if your vertigo is accompanied by symptoms that indicate a neurological condition, your chiropractor will refer you back to your general practitioner or another health care professional.  Don’t jump to symptomatic treatment with medication,

To find out what may be causing your vertigo, and to find out how chiropractic care may be able to help you, call Eastern Brain Centre today on  03 8652 1628 to schedule an appointment.

The painful life of a headache sufferer

If you are a regular headache sufferer then you won’t need to be reminded of the pain that comes when an attack hits; of course, if you’re a migraine sufferer, then you will also understand the debilitating pain and unpleasant symptoms which can leave you useless for anything up to a few days. Put simply, regular headaches are no picnic, and with our increasingly stressful lives comes the increased frequency of these attacks.

Usually the first thing anyone does when they get a headache is reach for the pain-killers in the medication cupboard, and whilst this will get rid of the pain, or at least dull it enough to continue to function, you are running the risk of not only dependence on drugs over a period of time, but also side effects which can sometimes be as unpleasant as the headache itself.

Happily, help is at hand, in the form of a safe, natural, and effective treatment option, without the need for drugs. Here at Chatfield Chiropractic we are experienced in administering effective chiropractic treatment in order to help regular headache sufferers, after thorough history taking, assessment, and diagnosis of the particular type of headache in question. In order to access this help, all it takes is an appointment to start the process – visiting a Craigieburn chiropractor could be the best first step you take.

It is important to establish which type of headache is predominant in a sufferer, because there are four main types – migraine, cervicogenic, cluster, and tension. Let’s look at them in turn.

Migraine – You will probably already know about migraines, and the fact that they are ridiculously painful and come with a myriad of other unpleasant symptoms, such as visual disturbances and extreme nausea. The migraine can last anything from four hours to three days.

Cervicogenic – Despite its complicated name, a cervicogenic headache is generally linked to the neck, and headaches are caused by a large amount of stress which is put on the joints in this area. This can be because of repetitive strain or because of an injury or trauma to the area. A cervicogenic headache is characterised by an ache at the back of the head, forehead, or around the ears.

Tension – This is an extremely common type of headache, which can be put down to our stressful lives. The pain is usually centred around the back of the head, the neck, and around the temples, and is caused by stress, which contracts the muscles in the neck and scalp.

Cluster – Occurring in groups, these types of headache come on very suddenly, with pain in one side of the head, accompanied by symptoms once the pain dies down, such as nasal congestion or watering eyes.

You might be wondering how chiropractic can help in the fight against headaches, but the gentle spinal manipulations and adjustments which chiropractic is famed for can help to give relief to sufferers, along with lifestyle and posture advice. Identifying the actual type of headache is the first step, and once that is complete, treatment can begin.

If you are suffering with the pain of regular headaches, call the practice now on Roxburgh Park (03) 9303 9952, or Sunbury (03) 9746 3977 to arrange an appointment and look forward to a headache pain-free future.

Say goodbye to dizziness

All too often we are prescribed drugs to help with a problem, and those drugs can then go on to cause us side effects. Sometimes these side effects can be just as troublesome as the condition they were prescribed for, and if you’re taking medications for dizziness symptoms, whatever the cause, then you don’t need to be adding further issues to the original problem!

If you could find a treatment method to help with your dizziness which didn’t involve drugs, would you take it?

Many people would.

The bottom line is that dizziness can be distressing, and you sometimes feel like the world is spinning and you simply want to get off! A feeling of nausea, sometimes causing fainting attacks, feeling light-headed, and as though the world flies past your eyes if you turn your head too fast, these are all symptoms of dizziness which can seriously affect the life of a sufferer.

Here at Balance Chiropractic we recognise how difficult, and sometimes how debilitating, dizziness can be, and we’re committed to helping eradicate those symptoms from the lives of those who have to cope with these feelings every day. Epping chiropractor, Dr Gus Gunther, is highly experienced and skilled in carrying out gentle and effective chiropractic treatment for sufferers of dizziness, helping to regain balance and harmony to a formerly chaotic life.

The bottom line is this – vertigo and dizziness can affect a person’s life in a very adverse way. Symptoms can be due to a number of issues, and it is important to identify the problem and diagnose it 100% before embarking on any treatment. There are of course certain conditions which cause dizziness which will require referral onto a more specialist, medical profession, e.g. Meniere’s Disease. Meniere’s Disease can be helped with chiropractic treatment, however additional medical support may be needed. In addition to this however, vertigo, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular migraine sufferers, and dizziness caused by trauma to the head or neck, can all be treated successfully and safely with gentle chiropractic methods, without the need for drugs and their potentially troublesome side effects.

Dizziness is all caused by a potential problem within the inner ear, which is linked to the vestibular system. Now, as confusing as this may sound, the vestibular system is responsible for sensing movement and helping you stay still and grounded, without feeling as though the world is spinning or moving past you at high speed. Gentle chiropractic methods can help correct problems in this area, regaining harmony and stillness to your life.

If you are suffering from troublesome symptoms of dizziness or you are worried about possible causes, don’t hesitate to call the practice now on (02) 9868 2509 to arrange an appointment. We can help you pinpoint the cause of your problem and then put together a dedicated treatment plan to bring normality back to your life. You don’t have to live with these distressing symptoms for a second longer, and you can look forward to a more balanced life as a result.

How Chiropractic Can Reduce Fall Risk

Each year, many injuries result from falls.  In most of these cases, a variety of factors combine to cause the fall.  Some of these risk factors (such as side effects of medication and environmental factors) can be mitigated, while others (such as age and vision problems) cannot.  For most people, a fall is a minor event, resulting in minor injuries, if any.  In some cases, however, especially in elderly individuals, a fall can result in a fracture or other serious injury.  In severe cases, long-term disability and even death can result from a fall.

The risk of falling increases significantly with age.  In young adults, 18% experience a fall each year.  In middle age, the rate rises to 21%.  After the age of 65, the rate rises sharply to one in every three, while those over 80 have a better than even chance of experiencing a significant fall each year.  These numbers are under-reported, as most noninjury falls are not reported to health care professionals unless they are accompanied by dizziness or other worrisome symptoms.

Falls are a contributing factor in nearly half of all nursing home admissions and nearly half of those admitted for hip fracture are never able to return home or live independently.  More than half of those who do will experience another fall within a few months.  Approximately 20-30% of those who experience hip fracture or other severe injury that limits mobility will die within six months to a year.

The statistics on falls sounds rather dismal, but the good news is there are a number of things that can be done to reduce the risk.  While some risk factors, such as age, cannot be changed, others, such as balance and gait problems, can be mitigated using assistive devices, medication adjustments, and chiropractic care.

The first step in reducing the risk of a fall is to consult with a healthcare provider to identify and minimize individual risk factors.  While older people are more prone to falls than younger people, age is rarely the only factor involved, there are usually multiple contributing factors at play in most falls.  Some of these include environmental hazards, impaired balance or gait, dizziness, confusion, visual impairment, sudden drops in blood pressure on standing (postural hypotension), and side effects of medication.  Research has found that those who are on four or more different medications are at increased risk of falling.

All this goes to show that balance is not solely the domain of the inner ear, but also depends on your vision and your musculoskeletal and nervous systems.  While the inner ear detects how your body is oriented, you also need to be able to see trip hazards, your brain needs to be able to process the information, and your body has to be able to respond to the information to keep the body upright.  That’s a lot of different systems that all have to be able to work together, and a lot of different ways things can go wrong.

A chiropractor can help reduce many of these fall risks.  Spinal manipulation and loosening of the muscles and joints can help to improve mobility and align the body, which also helps improve coordination of the nervous system.  A chiropractor can also recommend exercises that can improve overall balance, gait, and body awareness.  Finally, chiropractic can ease the symptoms of arthritis and certain other degenerative diseases, which may make it possible to reduce the required dose and, as a result, the side effects.

If you are at increased risk of falls, call Eastern Chiropractic now on 9857 4503 to schedule an appointment to find out how chiropractic may be able to help you feel more confident and regain your independence.

The reason why the Nintendo 3DS, can potentially give you vertigo and dizziness.

Possibly you have obtained a Nintendo 3DS merely to feel vertigo or dizziness upon making use of it? You are not by yourself. Dizzness and vertigo upon gaming with 3D consoles is a recognised problem with console brands along with health professionals that care for vertigo similar to me. How can you tell if you are going to experience reactions to the Nintendo 3DS and what might you do about it?

Everything comes from a problem described as visual mismatch. Your balance relies upon feedback from your eyes (vision), ears, plus your body (proprioception). Providing you are receiving data out of at the least 2 of these 3 you feel well balanced. However there’s lots of people who have overt or concealed problems with the ears and / or proprioception that renders one of the 3 lacking. This will make them constantly dependent upon the visual system and the other remaining input.

Most people can manage okay just with two systems, but when they are really made to rely on one system they encounter concerns. This is what takes place with the Nintendo 3DS. Generating the Three dimensional picture takes a distortion of how the human brain usually puts together an image. People with normal balance systems can handle this, however, if you are depending on the visual system to ensure you are balanced, you may be more likely to experience issues.

How can you tell if you may experience vertigo or dizziness on viewing the Nintendo 3DS? You can begin by simply asking these questions:

• Have you got an existing balance difficulty?
• Have you been inflicted by vertigo or dizziness in the past?
• Can you feel dizziness or confusion due to quick displays on standard TV or in the movies?
• Do you feel dizziness or perhaps disorientation in scenarios with lots of activity around you such as shopping malls/centres or supermarkets?
• Do you experience vertigo or disorientation with heights or even in circumstances where the point you are focusing on is far away?

I would suggest that the greater number of these you responded to yes to, the more likely you are to be affected by vertigo and dizziness when using the Nintendo 3DS. This does not definitely mean you will, however it could be really worth trying it out at a buddy’s home initially before heading to the shop and handing over your cash.

If you have already purchased a Nintendo 3DS and you are now suffering vertigo or dizziness. You may need to stop making use of it until you have resolved any hidden stability difficulties. Vestibular rehabilitation exercise routines might be required but ensure that you seek an assessment through a vestibular therapy practitioner or healthcare provider.

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