Those who have been in a rear impact collision are more likely to suffer from vertigo, or a feeling of dizziness, after a car crash. Vertigo refers to the feeling of spinning, whirling, or motion of yourself or your surroundings. Suffering from vertigo and dizziness can be disabling. Dizziness that follows an injury to the head or neck is called post-traumatic vertigo.
Often the injury sustained is viewed as a whiplash injury, but it can throw off your balance, coordination and spacial awareness because of the portion of the brain that it affects. The area of your neck at the base of your skull contains very sensitive structures that help your body determine where your head is in space. If these areas are damaged, your body will not transmit the correct information and you may feel light headed, dizzy, have a headache or suffer from vertigo as a result.
If you have been in collision you may experience one or many of the following:
- Vomiting or sweating
- Neck pain
- Migraines or headaches
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Lightheadedness
You may find that dizziness is worse when you move your head or roll over in bed. You may have a hard time with spacial awareness. You may feel as though you are thinking in slow motion and may find it difficult to remember some things. The room may seem to spin, or you may feel like you are in an elevator when you are standing still.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo and dizziness. It is sometimes called Benign Vertigo or Positional Vertigo. The condition can be described well by breaking down the name. The name means a non-progressive, sudden or unpredictable episode of dizziness or spinning caused by changing the position of your head.
BPPV is caused by otoconia, small calcium carbonate crystals, that are dislodged and float in the fluid of the inner ear. Symptoms occur when the crystals strike the sensitive nerve endings. Often BPPV will begin after an accident. Symptoms include brief but severe feelings of dizziness, ringing in the ears or hearing loss, a feeling of nausea and imbalance or a feeling of lightheadedness.
You may experience these symptoms suddenly, perhaps when waking up. The problem is triggered by changing the position of the head, as you would when getting out of bed, looking up or rolling over at night.
Treatment
Chiropractic treatment for BPPV is very effective. By gentle manipulations the chiropractor allows the body to naturally reduce vertigo symptoms by correcting the cause of the problem. If you or a loved one are suffering from BPPV, vertigo or dizziness call our office, we can help. (314) 731-4201 Our office is located in Hazelwood, Missouri, just South of Florissant, Missouri.
