VERTIGO

Vertigo is not a sickness but rather a symptomatic occurrence of feeling of movement. The movement feeling could be subjective or a feeling that one’s own body is moving or objective where one perceives surrounding objects moving.
The cause of vertigo is usually a disturbance in one’s own vestibular system, which is the component of our inner ear. This system is essential to our ability to visually focus our attention on anything that surrounds us and still simultaneously maintain our body movement in any direction, and in perfect balance.
There are several components to our vestibular system. The labyrinth is made up of three semicircular canals, positioned at right angles to each other, and are filled with fluid. On the base of the labyrinth, to which all three canals are connected to, are fine hairs linked to the vestibular nerve.
The movement detection process goes like this. As the head turns it forces the fluid in the semicircular canals to move. Depending on the direction of the head movement, only the circular canal that corresponds to the direction of head movement will allow the fluid to go through. This fluid then flows over the tiny hairs and signals to the brain, through the vestibular nerve, the direction of head movement. This ability empowers our brain to keep our body in positional balanced state.
According to the National Institute of Health, about 40 percent of people living in the U.S. have some experience of dizziness at least once in their lifetime. The occurrence is higher in women, and is more common in the older population.
Symptoms are described as feeling one’s own body spinning or surrounding objects spinning around one’s own body. It usually lasts from a few seconds to several minutes, can be sporadic, and results from a change in head position. The symptoms can include physical standing or sitting imbalance, and nausea. In more severe cases, such as vestibular neuritis, the symptoms could also include hearing loss and ringing in the ears. Persons with severe cases of vertigo can become depressed and further injure themselves from falls.
There are many known causes of vertigo but in some cases the cause is not known. The more familiar causes are inflammation of the inner ear, abnormal fluid pressure, buildup of crystals inside the semicircular canals, and from medication such as prolonged use of some antibiotics. There are also environmental components to consider such as ingesting lead or mercury particles. However, one of the most common causes of spinning and dizziness is known to most – alcohol consumption.
The treatment of vertigo symptoms will depend on the cause. Physical therapy is also used in treatment of vertigo; it is called Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy. The treatment results in a decrease, or elimination of, feelings of dizziness and improvement of positional balance, which leads also into improvement in gait pattern. Improving the function of one’s own vestibular system will also prevent falls and therefore limit other falls-related health problems. Issues affecting treatment success are the patient’s age, coordination, physical strength, and cognition. An experienced physical therapist is instrumental in successful treatment of some types of positional vertigo. In many cases your doctor will successfully treat vertigo with medication.
Prognosis is dependent on the cause. Severe vertigo may be quite disabling particularly in the elderly. It is important to see your doctor immediately if you are experiencing unexplained dizziness. The tests will rule out more serious causes such as stroke or tumor. It is important to understand that early detection of the cause gives a better chance of cure.