From the desk of Steph McDougal, DPT
Room-Spinning Dizziness?
You dizzy today?
If you are suffering from room-spinning dizziness that seems
to just all of the sudden appeared when, it might just be Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) or more commonly known as
just vertigo.
Here are some common signs/symptoms of vertigo:
·
- Brief episodes of mild to intense dizziness.
·
- A sense that you or your surrounding are
spinning or moving.
·
- Dizziness that is triggered by position changes
of your head. (tiping your head up or down, lying
down, rolling over, or sitting
up in bed, etc. )
·
- Symptoms that seem to have started with any
precipitating cause.
·
- Nausea
and/or vomiting
· -
Balance disturbances or feeling of unsteadiness
So what’s going on?
Vertigo is a disorder of the inner ear, it is idiopathic in
nature, meaning there is no known cause for it. It generally affects people age
50 or older and is more common in women than men. It happens when
small crystals in your ear become dislodged from and fall into
these three loop-shaped structures called your semicircular canals. Because
that is not where they should be you get a false sense of movement which leads
you to feel dizzy.
Have No Fear!
Stephanie McDougal, DPT, at the PTW Montgomeryville is an expert in BPPV, Vertigo, and Concussions, Steph can
do a series of tests and treatments to help get those crystals back to where
they should be, getting you back to your levels of function and performance once again.
