Some patients report dizziness or vertigo after an auto injury. There are four major causes of this condition after a wreck.
The most frequent cause of vertigo is because of neck trauma - or what's called cervicogenic vertigo. Your spinal column comprises thousands of nerves referred to as proprioceptors, and these nerve fibers tell your brain the position of your body. Proprioceptors are how you can control your body in the dark or with your eyes closed, and are an important part of how your body maintains balance.
In the event that your neck is hurt, the proprioceptors can be disrupted, and this crucial data is no longer available to the postural control system of your brain, resulting in dizziness.
Cervicogenic dizziness usually resolves itself with specific treatment of the damaged neck tissues.
Another type of dizziness is called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. BPPV can be brought about by violent movement of your head, as you could very well endure during a car wreck. Your inner ear contains tiny calcium crystals called otoliths. As you move your head, these crystals move against nerve endings in your inner ear, informing your brain about the position of your head. During a violent movement of your head, these otoliths can literally be jarred from their normal location to other areas of your inner ear. There, they send signals to your brain that don't make sense, causing confusion in your postural control system, and dizziness.
People with BPPV often report vertigo that occurs when they move their head and neck in certain ways. Treatment of BPPV is done with a simple procedure called the Epley Maneuver, which positions your head to move the otoliths back to their normal position.
The third possible cause of dizziness after an auto injury is vascular injury. Occasionally, the blood vessels of the neck are damaged, causing altered blood flow to the brain. This type of injury is often felt as a pain in the back of the head that becomes more intense over time, and it can be on either side of the head or in the middle. Occasionally the pain feels dull, and other times it might feel like an increase in pressure or a throbbing sensation.
This is an extremely serious type of injury and it's important to seek medical attention quickly if you have these signs or symptoms.
The fourth possible kind of dizziness is brain injury. If your head struck something at the time of the crash or if the crash was very bad, you can suffer a mild traumatic brain injury. If you experienced a brain injury, you might suffer with fuzzy thinking, confusion, dizziness, or memory loss after the crash. It's critical that you seek medical attention if you have these symptoms.
Chiropractic adjustments are a proven, successful way to help people with dizziness, and we've been helping these types of injuries in Bridesburg, PA since 2007.
If you've been in a car crash and have signs of back pain, Dr. Calantoni is here to help. We can help pinpoint the root cause of your pain and develop a treatment plan to help you restore your health. We have helped many patients in Bridesburg, PA heal from these types of problems.
Call our office today at (215) 743-5330 for a consultation or for more advice.
