Santa Barbara Chiropractor: 10 Most Frequent Questions
Regulating and maintaining body position while staying still or moving is the principal function of good balance. Good balance helps someone to walk without faltering, arise from a sitting position without slipping, and to climb stairs without slipping.
Approximately 9 percent of adults, age 65 and older, report having challenges with balance. Good balance is vital in aiding an older person to stay independent, and perform daily chores and activities. Many older individuals, however, experience dizziness, “wooziness,” and problems with balance.
The label, vertigo, applies to the sensation that a number of people have that they, themselves, or the things around them are spinning. About 40 percent of Americans will encounter dizziness that is consequential enough to go seek medical assistance. And, among older adults, falls are the prevailing cause of extreme injury and deaths.
Balance and Inner Ear Conditions
There are quite a few kinds of balance disorders. Three familiar types are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, labyrinthitis, and Meniere’s disease. Of these three, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most prevalent. Its symptoms involve a brief, intense feeling of vertigo with a change in head position, when rolling over to the left or right in bed or when getting out of bed, or when looking up for something on a high shelf. This affliction is more likely to occur in persons 60 and older, but it can also happen in younger individuals.
There are diverse causes for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It may be caused by an inner ear infection, head injury, or simply aging. Even though it can be connected with other disease processes, many times a simple Epleys procedure can fix the condition. Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor has many years of experience in this procedure.
Labyrinthitis is an infection or iirritation of the inner ear that cause dizziness and loss of balance. It affects adults of any age and the cause is unknown.
Ménière’s disease is a balance disorder that creates vertigo, hearing loss that comes and goes, tinnitus (ringing or roaring in the ears), and a “full feeling” in the ear.
Although people who are older are more likely to encounter balance disorders, age is not the only reason these problems happen. Treatment for balance disorders varies depending upon the reason. Many times, there’s a simple resolution to balance problems, such as simple exercises for vestibular rehab. A chiropractor is well-educated in analyzing and treating many of balance problems. Call a health care professional, such as your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, if you have encountered, or are currently experiencing, dizziness, vertigo, or other challenges with balance.
Although some balance disorders are created by problems in the inner ear, other disorders may involve another part of the body, such as the brain or the heart. Head injury, stroke, certain medicines, circulation problems, upper respiratory infections and other viral infections, stress, fatigue, smoking, alcohol use, high or low blood pressure, and heart disease are all influences that, in addition to aging and ear infection, may cause balance disorders.
Balance disorders caused by high blood pressure can usually be managed by less sodium intake,cultivating a healthy weight, and exercise. To aid in making the symptoms of dizziness less intense, generally eating low-salt or salt-free foods, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol, will help.
Balance disorders are significant. It is the number one cause of falls and fall-related injuries in older people. It is extremely important to have a suspected balance disorder diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.
If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should discuss the symptom(s) with your chiropractor:
• Do you have the feeling of being “unsteady?”
• Does the room seem to spin around you?
• Is there ever a time when you feel as if you are moving when you know you are standing still?
• Do you lose your balance and/or fall?
• Do you feel as if you are falling?
• Does your vision ever become “blurred?”
• Do you ever feel disoriented, or lose a sense of time, place or identify?
Don’t wait until it’s too late! Call your chiropractor today.