Vertigo, Arlington Texas
Vertigo: Working Out Which Kind It Is First
The short answer
Vertigo is the sensation that you or the room is moving, and it has several different causes that are not treated the same way. The most common one is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which comes from loose crystals in the inner ear and responds to specific repositioning manoeuvres rather than to spinal adjusting. Some dizziness genuinely does come from the neck, and where the examination supports that, treating the neck is reasonable. The examination here is mostly about telling those apart, and you get told which one it looks like rather than treated anyway.
What It Usually Is
The Common Kind Comes From The Inner Ear
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, BPPV, is the one most people have. Small crystals that belong in one part of the inner ear come loose and settle in a balance canal, so a change in head position sends the balance organ a movement signal that your eyes and your body disagree with. That disagreement is the spinning.
The tell is the trigger. BPPV fires on a change of head position, rolling over in bed, lying back, looking up, and the attack itself is short.
- Attacks last under a minute, and they are provoked rather than constant
- Rolling over in bed, lying flat and looking up are the classic triggers
- Hearing is not affected, and there is no weakness, numbness or speech change
- Episodes come in runs over days or weeks rather than as one event
The population study behind the numbers below defined it exactly that way: at least five attacks of vertigo lasting under a minute, with no other neurological symptoms, invariably brought on by a typical change in head position.
What The Research Says
Common, Treatable, And Usually Not Treated
A nationally representative survey of the German adult population, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry in 2007, screened 4,869 people and then ran validated interviews with 1,003 of them. It put the lifetime prevalence of BPPV at 2.4 percent, the one year prevalence at 1.6 percent, and found that BPPV accounted for 8 percent of everybody reporting moderate or severe dizziness.
In that study 86 percent of affected people saw a doctor, stopped their normal activities or took sick leave. Only 8 percent received effective treatment.
That gap is the reason this page exists. BPPV has a specific treatment that works, a repositioning manoeuvre, and the median episode in that study still ran two weeks. Being told plainly what you have is most of the value here.
What that means for an appointment at this clinic
If the examination points at BPPV, that is what you are told, and the manoeuvre that addresses it is the answer rather than a course of adjusting. If it points at the neck, which is a real cause and is examined for, then neck treatment is reasonable and is explained first. If it points at neither, you get referred rather than treated anyway.
The Neck's Part In It
Where Dizziness Does Come From The Neck
The upper neck is dense with position sensors, and the brain blends what they report with what the inner ear and the eyes report. When the upper neck joints stop moving normally, particularly after a whiplash injury, that blend can disagree with itself. The result tends to be unsteadiness and a swimming feeling tied to neck movement and neck pain, rather than short spinning attacks tied to head position.
- It travels with neck pain and stiffness rather than appearing on its own
- It is provoked by neck movement and by holding a position, not by rolling over
- It reads as unsteadiness and floating more than as the room spinning
- It commonly follows a neck injury, which is why the history matters as much as the examination
This is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means the inner ear and the neurological causes have to be ruled out first. That order is not a formality. It is what keeps a treatable ear problem from being treated as a neck problem for six weeks.
Read This First
Dizziness That Belongs In An Emergency Room
If You Notice Any of These Warning Signs, Please Seek Emergency Room Care Right Away.
- Double vision, or any sudden change in vision
- Slurred speech, or difficulty getting words out
- Difficulty swallowing
- Weakness or numbness in the face, an arm or a leg, especially on one side
- Trouble walking, or a sudden loss of coordination
- The worst headache of your life alongside the dizziness
- New deafness or ringing in one ear with the vertigo
- Vertigo that started after a head or neck injury
Those can indicate a stroke in the back of the brain, which produces dizziness and is an emergency. Go to an emergency room, do not book an appointment here, and do not wait to see whether it settles. There is no imaging in this building. Call 817-800-7136 only once you have been assessed.
Common Questions
Vertigo, Asked And Answered
Can a chiropractor treat vertigo?
It depends entirely on the cause, which is why the examination comes before any claim. Dizziness coming from the upper neck is a mechanical problem and is reasonable to treat. The common inner ear cause, BPPV, is not, and it has its own specific treatment. You are told which one it looks like.
How do I know if it is BPPV?
The pattern is the clue. BPPV attacks are short, usually under a minute, and they are set off by a change in head position such as rolling over in bed or lying back. Hearing is unaffected. The 2007 population study used exactly those features to identify it.
Is vertigo ever dangerous?
It can be. Vertigo alongside double vision, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, weakness, numbness or trouble walking can indicate a stroke and needs an emergency room the same day, not an appointment here.
Will an adjustment fix the spinning?
Not if it is coming from the inner ear, and saying otherwise would be dishonest. Where the examination supports a neck origin, treating the neck is reasonable and that gets explained before anything is done.
How long does it last?
In the 2007 study the median episode of BPPV ran two weeks. Only 8 percent of the people in it received effective treatment, which is a large part of why episodes drag on.
Do you take insurance for this?
Insurance and paying directly both work. Call 817-800-7136 and ask before you book, and you will be told how it works in your case. Appointments only, so a visit has to be booked.
Sources
Where The Numbers On This Page Come From
- Epidemiology of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a population based study. von Brevern M, Radtke A, Lezius F, Feldmann M, Ziese T, Lempert T, Neuhauser H. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2007;78(7):710 to 715. Cross-sectional nationally representative survey, 4,869 screened and 1,003 validated interviews. Source of every figure quoted: lifetime prevalence 2.4 percent, one year prevalence 1.6 percent, one year incidence 0.6 percent, 8 percent of all moderate or severe dizziness, median episode two weeks, 86 percent led to medical consultation or interruption of activities, only 8 percent received effective treatment.
Get The Dizziness Examined Properly
Call and describe when it happens and how long it lasts, or book online and pick a time.
3825 W Green Oaks Blvd, Suite 710, Arlington, TX 76016. Appointments only.