Santa Barbara Chiropractor: 10 Most Frequent Questions

Regulating and keeping body position while staying still or moving is the principal function of good balance. Good balance helps an individual to walk without wobbling, arise from a sitting position without tottering, and to climb stairs without stumbling.

Nearly 9 percent of adults, age 65 and older, describe having challenges with balance. Good balance is necessary in helping an older person to stay independent, and perform daily chores and activities. Quite a few older men and women, however, undergo dizziness, “wooziness,” and difficulties with balance.

The experience by individuals that they, themselves, or objects are spinning is called “vertigo.” About 40 percent of people nationwide will encounter dizziness that is serious enough to go seek out a health professional. And, among older adults, falls are the leading cause of severe injury and deaths.

Balance and Inner Ear Problems

There are a variety of balance disorders. Three conventional types are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, labyrinthitis, and Meniere’s disease. Of these three, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common. Its symptoms involve a brief, intense experience 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 condition is more likely to occur in individuals 60 and older, but it can also occur in younger individuals.

There are diverse reasons for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inner ear infection, head injury, or simply aging can cause the problem. Many times times a simple Epleys procedure can correct the affliction, though it can be associated with other disease processes. Your Santa Barbara Chiropractor has many years of experience in this procedure.

Labyrinthitis is an infection or agitation of the inner ear that creates dizziness and loss of balance. It affects people|individuals of any age and the cause is uncertain.

Ménière’s disease is a balance disorder that produces vertigo, irregular hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing or roaring in the ears), and a “full feeling” in the ear.

Though people who are older are more likely to experience balance disorders, age is not the only explanation for why these problems take place. Depending on the cause of the balance disorder, therapy will vary. Occasionally, there’s a simple answer to balance problems, such as simple exercises for vestibular rehab. A chiropractor is well-trained in analyzing and treating a number of balance dysfunctions. Consult a health care professional, such as your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, if you have experienced, or are currently experiencing, dizziness, vertigo, or other problems with balance.

Although some balance disorders are produced by problems in the inner ear, other disorders may include another part of the body, like the brain or the heart. Head injury, stroke, certain medicines, circulation challenges, upper respiratory infections and other viral infections, stress, fatigue, smoking, alcohol use,  high or low blood pressure, and heart disease are all factors that, along with aging and ear infection, may produce balance disorders.

Balance disorders created by high blood pressure can normally be managed by less sodium intake,cultivating a healthy weight, and exercise. To help in making the symptoms of dizziness less severe, frequently eating low-salt or salt-free foods, and staying away from caffeine and alcohol, will help.

Balance disorders are dangerous. It is the primary cause of falls and fall-related injuries in older people. It is crucial to have a possible balance disorder accessed and treated as soon as possible.

If you can answer “yes” to any of the following 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.

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