Can Chiropractic Care Eliminate Balance Challenges?
August 12th, 2009Good balance is absolutely necessary for an individual to be able to regulate and keep body position while mobile or staying still. Good balance helps a person to walk without staggering, arise from a sitting position without tottering, and to climb stairs without stumbling.
Approximately 9 percent of adults, age 65 and older, report having challenges with balance. Good balance is essential in aiding an older person to stay independent, and to carry out daily chores and activities. Many older people, however, experience dizziness, “wooziness,” and difficulties with balance.
The experience by many that they, themselves, or their environment is spinning is called “vertigo.” About 40 percent of individuals in the U.S. will encounter dizziness that is severe enough to go to a doctor. And, among older adults, falls are the leading cause of serious injury and deaths.
Balance and Inner Ear Problems
Three types of balance disorders that are most conventional are benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, labyrinthitis, and Meniere’s disease, though there are many other classes of balance disorders. Of these three, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common. Its symptoms include a brief, intense sensation 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 affliction is more likely to happen in adults 60 and older, but it can also happen in younger people.
There are various causes for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inner ear infection, head injury, or simply aging can create the problem. Many times times a simple Epleys procedure can fix the affliction, but it can be linked to 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 cause dizziness and loss of balance. It affects adults of any age and the cause is currently undiscovered.
Ménière’s disease is a balance disorder that produces vertigo, inconsistent hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing or roaring in the ears), and a “full feeling” in the ear.
Even though those over 65 years are more likely to encounter balance disorders, age is not the only cause for why these problems happen. Depending on the cause of the balance disorder, treatment will vary. A chiropractor is highly skilled in assessing and treating many of the causes. Not infrequently, even simple exercises for vestibular rehab can be the answer to balance challenges. Call a health care professional, such as your Santa Barbara Chiropractor, if you have undergone, or are currently experiencing, dizziness, vertigo, or other challenges with balance.
Not all balance disorders are caused by problems in the inner ear. Some may involve other areas of the body such as the brain or heart. Head injury, stroke, certain medicines, circulation problems, upper respiratory infections and other viral infections, stress, fatigue, smoking, alcohol use, high or low blood pressure, and heart disease are all components that, along with aging and ear infection, may cause balance disorders.
Balance disorders caused by high blood pressure can usually be managed by less sodium intake,cultivating a healthy weight, and exercise. To help in making the symptoms of dizziness less severe, most often eating low-salt or salt-free foods, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol, will help.
Balance disorders are serious. It is the primary cause of falls and fall-related injuries in older people. It is crucial to have a suspected balance disorder diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.
If you can answer “yes” to any of the questions listed below, 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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