Dizziness

Most children get a real thrill out of making themselves dizzy. They will spin round and round as fast as possible and then collapse in a heap of laughter and giggles. However, when someone suddenly becomes dizzy for no apparent reason, it can be a very frightening and debilitating experience.

Why do we get dizzy?

To understand why we become dizzy, we must first look at the parts of the body that are involved in creating this sensation. Our eyes, ears and nerve endings in our joints all combine to send signals to the brain telling us where our body is in space. If these signals are interrupted or the wrong signals are sent, then we can get dizzy. The part of the inner ear, the semi-circular canals, is crucial in this process. It consists of three fluid filled tubes that are orientated in the X, Y and Z planes, i.e. pitch, roll and yaw.

There are little hairs covering the inside tubes that project into the fluid, attached to the hairs are nerve endings that send a signal to the brain. Every time we move our head, the fluid ain the tube pushes against the hairs, telling us which way our head has moved. The eyes send visual information to the brain telling it which way the body is positioned. There are special nerve receptors in our joints that are concerned with "proprioception"- this allows us to feel, for example, if our elbow is straight or bent even if we cannot see it.

What causes dizziness?

There are numerous causes of dizziness including;

• Multiple Sclerosis
• Merniere’s disease
• Cervicogenic Vertigo
• Labyrinthitis (infection)
• Trauma to the head and/or neck
• Drugs
• Tumours
• Benign Paroxysmal positioning vertigo.

Some of these conditions require medical treatment, but Cervicogenic Vertigo and Benign paroxysmal positioning Vertigo can be treated very successfully by a chiropractor.