DIZZINESS & VERTIGO
Vertigo is the sensation that you’re spinning with episodes of mild to intense dizziness.
However, what if your vertigo is caused by something different? In many cases, it is. A common cause of vertigo that we see in our office is the result of inaccurate or inefficient coordination of the brain networks that control our eye muscles. In many of these cases we detect that there is a problem in one or more of these neural networks that control our eye movements. This eye movement inaccuracies are often not even noticed by the patient, however upon clinical examination the doctor will often observe these inaccurate eye movements.
About This Condition
Vertigo Causes
Inaccurate eye movements will often be seen when the doctor is performing neurological eye testing on the patient, looking for functional incongruence during eye movements. Information our brains receive from our eyes should match up with information our body tells our brain. These inaccuracies and inefficiencies lead to what is called a sensory mismatch. In other words, when your eye movements are inefficient or inaccurate, they send abnormal information to your brain, causing you to feel dizzy or light-headed.
Vertigo Symptoms
When these eye movement problems result in a slow movement followed by a fast movement, the person will usually feel like they are spinning. This could be caused by a problem with your inner ear. In many cases, the spinning sensation is caused by the consequences of a sensory mismatch that causes a disruption of our central neural processing networks.
Other Contributing Factors
Other contributors to these sensory mismatches are cerebellar deficits (which occur when the body attempts to adapt to problems in our vestibular system), brainstem deficits (vestibular nuclei centers that receive information from peripheral vestibular structures), frontal lobe deficits, parietal lobe deficits or imbalance between two hemispheres/halves of the brain (appropriate communication between these two halves is important for allowing visual focus/attention and suppressing nystagmus or dizziness), and cervical or neck issues which send improper information to the brain.
How We Can Help
While vertigo may just dissipate on its own after several weeks without treatment, we understand that waiting for the symptoms to subside can be uncomfortable. Our methods include vestibular rehabilitation, a type of therapy that helps to strengthen the vestibular system that connects head and body movements to the brain. For more information, please contact our doctors today.
About Us
The team of Functional Neurologists at Integrated Brain Centers are experts in helping patients of all ages suffering from concussion and brain injuries.