Vestibular sensors

Staying upright on the earth’s surface is something most of us take for granted.  The ability to balance under the force of gravity requires our brains to process information about where we are in space and in which direction we are moving.

The inner ear has motion sensors in it called the “vestibular apparatus” (pictured) and these motion sensors sends signals to our brains about our heads position, which in turn sends information to the eyes and spine.

 

This process is done automatically as our brains work in the background, tirelessly ensuring that we don’t just happen to lean too far and fall to the ground.

Unfortunately, sometimes the information that we need to stay upright becomes muddled, and our world can be turned upside down, literally.  Vertigo can be a catastrophic symptom and can be associated with nausea and fatigue as the human brain is overloaded with the challenge of staying upright.

Vertigo (your world is spinning) can be a symptom of several diagnoses including:

• BPPV (Benign Postural Positional Vertigo).
  This is the most common cause of vertigo
• Meniere’s disease
• Vestibular neuritis

 

Dizziness and disequilibrium (you feel imbalanced) can also be caused by issues with the neck and with blood pressure.

At MWE we can do some quick assessments to help work out where your vertigo or dizziness comes from.

Often the short and easy treatment technique for BPPV can make the suffering person feel instantaneously better.

Other treatments may take longer and will include assessments and therapies for the eyes and brain.  If you have acute or recurrent vertigo / dizziness it’s important that have your symptoms assessed by a therapist educated in neurology.