Vertigo is an extremely common experience, especially for those over the age of 40. If you experience vertigo, you may want to learn more about it. Hopefully, our article will help you in a fun and informative way. We’re going to make 10 statements about vertigo. Try to determine if the statement is true or false before reading the paragraph below each statement. Then we’ll give the answer and a brief explanation. By the end of the article, you should know a little more about this common issue as well as a way that many are finding relief.

Statement #1 – Lightheadedness Is Another Term for Vertigo

False. Vertigo involves an incorrect sensation of movement. For example, the room may seem to be spinning around a person. Someone may also occasionally feel faint during a vertigo attack, but vertigo is not the same thing as lightheadedness.

Statement #2 – Kids Can Get Vertigo Too

True. While it grows increasingly common as a person ages, you can have vertigo at any age. In fact, kids often do things to give themselves vertigo intentionally. Maybe as a child you would spin around as fast as you could, then stop, and enjoy the feeling that everything was still spinning. In fact, your goal might have been to make yourself fall down. As we get older, vertigo changes from a fun game into a scary experince that strikes suddenly and could cause a dangerous fall – especially for the elderly.

Statement #3 – The Inner Ear Plays a Major Role in Its Occurrence

True. There is such a thing as central vertigo which refers to vertigo caused by a problem in the central nervous system. However, the most commonly diagnosed causes of vertigo are in the inner ear. For example, after a cold or flu, a person may experience inflammation of the labyrinth (inner ear) or the vestibular nerve (the 8th cranial nerve that sense signals from the ear to the brain about balance and spatial orientation).

Statement #4 – Vertigo Can Also Refer to a Fear of Heights

False. A person may experience vertigo when high up, but the word for fear of heights is acrophobia. Some people mistake these two conditions because of Vertigo, a classic Alfred Hitchcock movie in which the main character had fear of heights.

Statement #5 – It Can Be a Symptom of a Migraine

True. When a migraine includes vestibular symptoms such as vertigo, it is referred to as a vestibular migraine. Depending on whose research you consider, this is a symptom experienced by anywhere between 25 of 40% of migraine patients. The two symptoms are especially found together after a person has experienced head or neck trauma.

Statement #6 -During an Attack a Person May Experience Involuntary Eye Movements

True. These eye movements are called nystagmus. It is believed that the eyes move to try and compensate for the false sensation of movement that is being experienced. Many doctors will look for this symptom to diagnose the most common type of vertigo, BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo).

Statement #7 – Vertigo Itself Is a Medical Condition

False. This is a little tricky because some people experience vertigo and never discover the underlying medical condition that is causing it. You may also experience vertigo with no other symptoms. However, vertigo itself is considered a symptom and not a medical condition.

Statement #8 – Meniere’s Disease Is a Cause of Vertigo

True. Though the condition itself is rather rare (only 0.2% of people), Meniere’s disease presents with four primary symptoms and vertigo is one of them. The other three are tinnitus (ringing in the ear), hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the affected ear (which is usually just on one side).

Statement #9 – Medication Can Cure Vertigo

False. We’re reluctant to use the word cure in the medical field, especially when it comes to a symptom rather than a condition. Instead, the term treatment is more appropriate. For example, antihistamines are often used to treat vertigo. The idea is to dry out the excess fluid in the inner ear. Unfortunately, many medications prescribed for vertigo come with unwanted side effects, and some may even make the problem worse depending on what turns out to be the underlying cause.

Statement #10 – Upper Cervical Chiropractic Can Help Patients

True. This has been well established for a number of years. For example, a 2006 case study involving 60 patients led to complete relief for 80% of those in the study. The other 20% all saw significant benefits. All of the patients in the study had an upper cervical misalignment which was detected through an examination and diagnostic imaging. 56 of the 60 could remember specific head or neck injuries that could have caused the underlying misalignment. This shows the beneficial effects of upper cervical chiropractic care for patients who have a misalignment of the C1 or C2, which can easily result from head or neck trauma.

If you or a loved one is suffering from vertigo, especially if there is a history involving accidents or injuries, this may be the natural source of relief you’ve been searching for. Adjustments are precise, gentle, and performed on an as-needed basis. Thus, many have also found this to be a cost-effective method of care.

We hope you enjoyed our little quiz, and that you have found some of the answers you’ve been looking for. To learn what upper cervical chiropractic can do for you, contact one of the many talented practitioners to schedule a consultation. Relief from vertigo may be closer than you think.

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