Are you dizzy over nothing?
Dizziness, giddiness, loss of balance…call it what you like, this terrible affliction can have many causes as it has names and often nothing can be found.
Postural hypotension (low blood pressure) is dizziness caused by suddenly changing positions usually from lying down to standing. With a rapid loss of blood pressure, your brain is not getting the blood and oxygen supply it needs so as a self-defence mechanism dizziness makes you want to lie down. It’s easier for your brain to get what it needs without the extra stress of gravity.
Have you ever tried to answer the phone when you have been lying in the sun and got dizzy as you tried to run to answer it? So next time the phone rings, give your self a few seconds in the sitting position before you stand.
Tips for treatment
Central Nervous System problems affecting your cerebellum in the brain can also produce loss of balance. Different reasons will need different treatments, so first things first, as you need a lot of tests to eliminate and identify the usual suspects.
Inner ear disturbances can also produce dizziness and again depending on what it is, different approaches will be used.
By far the most common form of dizziness in the middle-aged community is the effect of positional vertigo or “stiff upper neck (cervical) joints” especially seen in arthritis sufferers. Neck joints are packed with sensory nerve endings called mechanoreceptors that detect and interpret movement. When the neck joints do not move properly these sensory nerve endings can send aberrant messages to the brain resulting in loss of balance.
If you have tried to manage your dizziness without success, perhaps the easy solution is to at least have your neck checked and if necessary treated. Treatment is simple and painless and compared to most medical intervention relatively inexpensive.
Our Melbourne Physiotherapists have years of experience treating dizziness successfully in many patients.
