Vertigo / dizziness
What is Vertigo?
Vertigo can significantly impact daily life, leaving a person feeling unsteady, disorientated and overwhelmed. While often described simply as dizziness, vertigo is more than a fleeting sensation of light-headedness. It is a specific sensation of movement or spinning, where a person may feel as though they, or their surroundings, are moving even when standing or sitting still.
Vertigo is a symptom rather than a condition itself and can arise from problems involving the inner ear, brain or sensory pathways involved in maintaining balance.
Symptoms may include:
A spinning or moving sensation
Nausea or vomiting
Difficulty standing, walking or maintaining balance
Unsteadiness
Sweating
Headaches
What causes vertigo:
There are several conditions that can be associated with vertigo.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV): One of the most common causes of vertigo. BPPV occurs when tiny calcium carbonate crystals within the inner ear become displaced and enter the semicircular canals, interfering with the normal signals involved in balance.
Vestibular Neuritis or Labyrinthitis: inner ear infections that cause inflammation that can affect the nerves responsible from balance.
Meniere’s Disease: This is a chronic condition caused by fluid build up in the inner ear, leading to episodes of vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss.
Migraines: Migraines such as vestibular migraines can cause vertigo without any typical headache signs.
Other factors: other factors can cause or contribute to vertigo such as
Head injuries
Side effects from medications
Neurological conditions such as stroke or MS (multiple sclerosis)
Acupuncture for vertigo:
Acupuncture has traditionally been used within Chinese medicine for presentations involving dizziness and vertigo. In modern practice, acupuncture may be incorporated as part of a broader management approach depending on the underlying cause of the symptoms and the individual’s presentation.
From a Chinese medicine perspective, vertigo and dizziness can arise from several different patterns. These may involve concepts such as Wind, Phlegm, deficiency or the upward disturbance of Qi and Yang.
Rather than treating every presentation of vertigo identically, acupuncture points are selected according to the individual’s broader pattern and accompanying symptoms.
Vertigo Through a Chinese Medicine Lens
Chinese medicine has several ways of understanding vertigo. In some presentations, symptoms may be associated with an upward disturbance, traditionally described through concepts such as Wind or Yang rising toward the head.
One way of visualising this is like wind moving through the upper branches of a tree: disturbance rises upward while stability below is lost.
Other individuals may present very differently, which is why Chinese medicine treatment is based on the overall pattern rather than vertigo alone.
Other tips to manage vertigo:
In addition to acupuncture other practices can be implemented to help manage vertigo
Chinese Herbal Medicine – Can help to address the vertigo as well the the underlying root cause
Stay hydrated and maintain a healthy diet
Perform balance exercises such as the Epley maneuver, under professional guidance
Avoid sudden head movements and minimise screen time to reduce symptoms
Understand your triggers – alcohol, caffeine, not enough sleep etc so you can avoid them.
Acupuncture for Vertigo in Melbourne
Dr Sonic provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine consultations for people experiencing vertigo, dizziness and other health concerns from clinics in Caulfield, Hawthorn and Mt Evelyn.
Where vertigo is new, severe, unexplained or accompanied by neurological symptoms, appropriate medical assessment is important to determine the underlying cause.
*Disclaimer: Each individual’s treatment and/or results may vary depending on their specific presentation. No results can be promised or guaranteed from receiving treatment.
