Our office has been accommodating many individuals seeking vertigo relief in Colorado Springs. These patients often wonder about the spinning sensation they experience after a slight movement of their heads. They also talk about “brand new” symptoms like dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. All these signs point to vertigo. Each of these patients also shares how their vertigo episodes reduce their work performance and take away the fun in their daily experiences.
If you also suffer from vertigo attacks that leave you disoriented and nauseous, we’ll tell you ten different methods to get relief. We’ll divide these methods into two categories: lifestyle changes and professional care. All of these methods do not require any surgical intervention or medication. Hence, these are incredibly safe and doable.
Lifestyle Changes for Vertigo Relief
1. Picking Anti-inflammatory Foods
Inflammation in the inner ear is a likely cause of vertigo. In many cases, this inflammation can lead to a vestibular disorder or any condition that lists vertigo as a symptom. An example of this condition is vestibular neuritis, or the inflammation of the vestibular nerve. Including more foods that fight inflammation can help reduce the severity of your vertigo episodes and possibly their frequency. Change your diet and add more anti-inflammatory foods. Here are some of them:
Coconut oil
Avocado oil
High-potassium fruits and vegetables
Lean protein
Ginger
Gingko Biloba
You can also add vitamin B12 and vitamin D supplements to your diet if your doctor prescribes them. Keep away from too much salty food and caffeine, as these can trigger and worsen vertigo spells.
2. Correcting Your Posture
People who seek vertigo relief in Colorado Springs are often surprised to hear that their condition might also be an outcome of poor posture. Poor posture is a leading cause of misalignments in the neck. These neck misalignments often result in health issues, where several of which have vertigo as a symptom. When a neck misalignment exists, it can affect the brainstem’s functions in transmitting signals between the body and the brain.
Becoming aware of your posture and changing the way you stand, sit, or walk as soon as you notice are effective methods to improve your posture. When you correct your posture often, your body will get used to the change. In the long run, you would not have to think about your posture anymore since your body will automatically do it for you.
3. Hydrating Yourself
Dizziness, nausea, and poor balance are symptoms that come with vertigo episodes due to differences in blood pressure. Blood pressure changes are often caused by dehydration. This is why we feel lightheaded or dizzy when we are incredibly thirsty. Drinking enough water is another lifestyle adjustment that you can commit to reduce your vertigo spells and improve your overall health.
4. Quitting Alcohol
Regularly drinking alcohol leads to dehydration and other conditions that may cause vertigo spells, such as migraines. In general, drinking alcohol negatively affects our bodies, especially for those experiencing vertigo and other underlying conditions, like Meniere’s disease.
Alcoholic beverages can lead to the retention of the fluid in the inner ear, which is vital in the way we sense balance and motion. Meniere’s disease, for example, lists vertigo as a symptom. Continuing to drink alcohol, despite your diagnosis, can lead to more severe vertigo episodes.
5. Avoiding Stress
Some stress is healthy, but excessive stress can put your health at risk for several ailments, including vertigo. When the body is subjected to a lot of stressful situations, it releases stress hormones that might lead to migraines and vertigo attacks. These can come alongside other stress-related conditions that can make your vertigo even more severe. If you cannot entirely avoid stress, try out some natural destressing activities such as yoga and other mild exercises for vertigo relief in Colorado Springs.
6. Raising Your Vitamin D Levels
Vitamin D is an essential component that can help you get relief from vertigo. Add vitamin D supplements to your diet. Another effective way to get enough vitamin D is to go outside often to walk or even relax. The best time to increase your vitamin D levels is around early morning before ten. You can also catch the sun late in the afternoon when the heat is not that harsh. If you work at home, try staying at a place near direct sunlight.
7. Adjusting Your Sleeping Habits
Your sleeping habits refer to the time you sleep, your sleeping posture, and the number of hours you sleep at night. If you have vertigo, try to sleep at the same time every night and wake up at the same time in the morning. Make sure that you also sleep on your back. Sleeping on your belly can strain your neck, leading to a constriction in your nerves. As a result, it can disrupt the normal transmission of signals to and from the brain.
Professional Care for Vertigo Relief
8. Canalith Repositioning Maneuvers
Canaliths refer to tiny crystals made out of calcium in the inner ear. These canaliths are essential in our perception of balance and motion. The migration of these tiny crystals to the different parts of the inner ear may cause the leading cause of vertigo— a condition called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or BPPV. Simple and slight movements of the head can trigger a vertigo episode for a person with BPPV. Canalith repositioning maneuvers are exercises that can return the calcium crystals to their rightful place. Although this method can be considered professional care, you can do these maneuvers at home.
9. Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy
Again, the onset of vertigo can indicate an issue in the body’s vestibular system. Hence, addressing the problems within the affected organs can help reverse the effect of dizziness. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy can help improve the coordination between the hand and the eye and restore a person’s usual sense of balance. Consult a physical therapist for this method.
10. Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care
As mentioned earlier, an upper neck misalignment can result in poor brainstem function. Impeded brainstem function can result in mixed signals to the brain. For example, the brain might register a slight motion of the body as an extensive movement, resulting in the false sensation of spinning connected to vertigo. Misalignments in the upper neck are common occurrences and might be a result of several things:
Bad posture
Dehydration
Stress
Poor lifestyle choices
Car accidents
Sporting accidents
If you notice, this list is similar to what might cause vertigo to manifest in an individual. This proves the connection between vertigo and the upper neck.
If you are looking for vertigo relief in Colorado Springs, Dr. Stenberg can help. Upper cervical chiropractors, like Dr. Stenberg, are trained to assess and correct any misalignments in the upper neck. They use a natural technique for realignment that requires gentle yet accurate movements.