Honolulu Chiropractor

Exactly what does the word, “vertigo, ” mean? Vertigo is a name for the dizzy disturbance a person suffers within a fixed location. The perception is that the outer world is tilting and even spinning. Vertigo might be quick and short- lived or chronic. Regardless, no matter what, the particular source of vertigo needs to be diagnosed and the proper treatment plan undertaken.

There are lots of reasons for the symptoms of Vertigo. An inner ear malady, known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, will occasionally show up as the impact of a sustained head injury or intense cold. On occasion this particular vertigo may be the result of the aging process. The trigger, nevertheless, fairly often is unknown. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a wordy diagnosis, but it characterizes perfectly this non- progressive condition that is a result of, as its name implies, a unexpected change in head position. The difficulties are by and large surprising and variable.

It will be facilitative to look at the function of the inner ear in an endeavor recognize what causes this frequently disabling symptoms of this type of vertigo. The brain senses movement and keeps equilibrium employing the fluid found in the inner ear. Also in the inner ear are miniature calcium carbonate crystals, medically known as otoconia. The crystals usually float in the inner ear fluid if dislodged. As the crystals strike against the reactive nerve endings in the inner ear, they lead to the complaints of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV.

The good news is that chiropractic treatment can minimize the discomforts of BPPV very quickly and effectively using a technique called the Epley maneuver. By means of the use of this process, a chiropractor rotates the head of a BPPV victim into a number of the different positions, letting gravity shift the calcium carbonate crystals into a space of the inner ear that is away from the nerve endings where they will induce no subsequent dizziness.

Your chiropractor has aided hundreds of persons for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo using the Epley Maneuver technique. Quite often, with just one treatment the majority of patients no longer suffer from vertigo.  Call your Honolulu Chiropractor today!

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You know the old saying, “You’re only as old as you feel,” right? And though in general this adage may be true, specifically the young/old feeling seems to vary from day-to-day as we age, especially among baby boomers where sports and athletic activities are involved. In fact, orthopedic surgeons are seeing a “tidal wave” of 45- to 64-year-olds suffering from exercise-related injuries they’ve dubbed “boomeritis,” reports Dr. Ray Monto, an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS). “You can’t beat yourself up the way you did when you were 20 because it takes longer to recover,” he said.

According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission exercise-related injuries and injuries sustained through the use of exercise equipment sent more than 166,000 people in the 45-64 age group to the emergency room, clinic or doctor’s office in 2008. Though middle-aged people today are a lot more active than their parents were, and are basically more fit and athletic longer into their lives, older athletes need to take a few precautions to protect themselves from injuries like rotator cuff tears, tendonitis and stress fractures.

Though most of the injuries in the Consumer report appear to be due to people not giving themselves enough time to rest up after tough workouts, Monto and AAOS offer a number of helpful tips to avoid exercise injuries: Check with your physician before starting any type of exercise program (your doctor can make sure you’re healthy and offer advice on sports and activities that fit your fitness level). Don’t do the same workout day after day (this will help to avoid repetitive stress injuries and eliminate chronic injury patterns). Work on your flexibility (it’s crucial to stretch and warm up before a workout, and cool down and stretch again, the AAOS advises). And, be sure to schedule days off into your exercise regimen, especially after a particularly intense workout.

So, Baby Boomers, even though you may feel young, it’s still wise to take extra precautions to protect your body when you’re active. After all, wisdom comes with aging.

Full article by Anne Harding (Reuters Health)

ORIGINAL SOURCE: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, June 22, 2009.

Technorati Tags: exercise, rotator cuff tears, sports injuries, stress fractures, tendonitis

Controlling and preserving body position while staying still orin motion is the most crucial function of good balance. Good balance helps someone to walk without staggering, arise from a sitting position without falling, and to climb stairs without slipping.

Nearly 9 percent of adults, age 65 and older, disclose having challenges with balance. Good balance is essential in aiding an older person to stay independent, and implement daily chores and activities. Dizziness, “wooziness,” and challenges with balance are suffered by quite a few people as they age.

The label, vertigo, applies to the experience that some people have that they, themselves, or their environment is spinning. About 40 percent of individuals in the U.S. will encounter dizziness that is consequential enough to go seek medical assistance. And, among older adults, falls are the leading cause of extreme injury and deaths.

Balance and Inner Ear Conditions

There are a variety of balance disorders. Three customary 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 feeling 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 an object on a high shelf. This condition is more likely to happen in individuals 60 and older, but it can also take place in younger individuals.

There are an assortment of causes for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Inner ear infection, head injury, or simply aging can create the problem. Whereas it can be linked to other disease processes, frequently a simple Epleys procedure can correct the affliction. Your Honolulu Chiropractor has many years of experience in this procedure.

Labyrinthitis is an infection or iagitation of the inner ear that produces dizziness and loss of balance. It affects adults of any age and the cause is unknown.

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

Though those over 65 years are more likely to encounter balance disorders, age is not the only cause for why these problems occur. Depending on the cause of the balance disorder, care will vary. A chiropractor is well-trained in diagnosing and treating a large majority of the causes. On occasion, even simple exercises for vestibular rehab can be the remedy to balance challenges. Consult a health care professional, such as your Honolulu Chiropractor, if you have encountered, or are currently experiencing, dizziness, vertigo, or other problems with balance.

While some balance disorders are produced by challenges in the inner ear, other disorders may involve another region of the body, such as 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 produced by high blood pressure can usually be managed by less sodium intake,maintaining a healthy weight, and exercise. To assist in making the symptoms of dizziness less intense, frequently eating low-salt or salt-free foods, and staying away from caffeine and alcohol, will help.

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

If you can answer “yes” to any of these 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.

Technorati Tags: balance, chiropractic, chiropractor, dizziness, falls, vertigo