Vertigo and dizzying sensations can happen to virtually any age group. Whether you’re young or old, it can affect you and cause minor to major disruption to your schedule or routine. Have you ever wondered, though, if certain age groups experience these symptoms differently? For example, how do vertigo and dizziness in the elderly feel? Do kids experience less severe attacks? How about the working class? What do they experience when they have a vertigo episode?
It’s also equally important to know what sort of remedies or relief option you can tap into if you frequently deal with vertigo. Learn everything there is to know about coping with vertigo and dizziness below.
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It’s quite common to hear people refer to vertigo and dizziness in the elderly, young adults, and children as the same thing. However, the truth is, vertigo and dizziness have a few distinct characteristics. For starters, studies classify vertigo under dizziness. So, essentially, dizziness is a more general term that could refer to disorienting spinning or shaking sensations. Vertigo also tends to feature additional symptoms like nausea, vomiting, uncontrollable eye jerking, and ear congestions (depending on the underlying cause).
In general, an episode lasts somewhere around a couple of hours to several days. They can also recur several times a month. If your vertigo episodes stem from BPPV or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, you will likely experience an attack every time you tilt your head. On one hand, if it results from a problem with your central nervous system like a brain tumor or a brainstem lesion, the episode tends to persist until you address the issue.
Did you know that roughly 40 percent of the US population experience vertigo and dizziness at one point in their life? Both are widespread symptoms that can stem from various underlying conditions, including brainstem lesions, previous head, and neck injuries, Meniere’s, BPPV, and stroke. Here’s how it affects certain age groups:
Pediatric vertigo can occur due to various reasons, including brain tumors, concussion, sinus congestion, and ear infections. Most of the time, kids and teens who experience vertigo and dizziness also complain about migraine headaches.
People in their 20s to late 50s experience mild to severe vertigo attacks due to various underlying health concerns such as hypertension, stroke, BPPV, and Meniere’s. An episode can also stem from vestibular migraines. According to statistics, around 40 percent miss work because of vestibular migraine and its symptoms.
Vertigo is among the biggest health concern in aging folks. It often arises from spinal structural problems as the misaligned vertebral bones press on the brainstem, affecting the transmission of signals to the brain.
Although vertigo attacks are generally not life-threatening, they can increase the likelihood of injuries from slipping, tripping, or falling, especially among older folks. Often such accidents lead to permanent disability because of the brittle bone structure and the slow recovery of the body.
Now that you know a bit about vertigo and dizziness in the elderly, kids, and adults, let’s try to tackle a bit about the neck anatomy. Not many people know that the neck plays a highly critical role besides holding the head in place. It encases the brainstem, a crucial component of the central nervous system.
Your brainstem serves as the main pathway for signals sent from different parts of the body to the brain. It also performs other key functions like regulating breathing rate, digestion, sleeping cycles, and body temperature.
Unfortunately, when you have a cervical subluxation (shifting of the bones), the brainstem suffers the most. As the bones press on the brainstem, the signals about your position or movement also get messed up. This causes confusion or perception of false motion.
Additionally, the misaligned bones can also affect fluid flow to and from the brain. It could trigger the onset of diseases like an ear infection or Meniere’s, which often come with vertigo attacks.
As long as the misalignment along your neck exists, you will most likely continue to experience balance problems. It can also worsen and lead to other serious concerns that could further impact your life.
Studies haven’t found a definitive way to eliminate vertigo and dizziness in the elderly and other age groups. That’s because these two are not separate conditions or diseases. Instead, they only serve as symptoms of other disorders such as those we mentioned above.
This means that if you want to get to the bottom of your vertigo or dizziness episodes, you will need to address the underlying cause. If you’re like most patients, your symptoms might likely stem from an atlas or upper cervical subluxation. You might have been in an accident before and suffered from post-concussion syndrome or a whiplash injury. The bone misalignment could also arise from poor posture or spinal structure defect.
If you suspect an atlas subluxation or don’t see improvement after seeking other remedies, you can check out upper cervical care. It’s a gentle, natural, and holistic way to healing the body and improving one’s vitality and balance.
The process involves making precise and careful upper cervical chiropractic adjustments. This way, the misaligned bones can gradually go back to their proper place and release the tension on the brainstem. It also aims to restore the normal flow of fluids to prevent or manage vertigo-causing disorders like ear infections and Meniere’s.
If you’re ready to try this innovative and all-natural remedy for vertigo, you may get in touch with a vertigo chiropractor near you today.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
