Dizziness and vertigo explained

What's the difference between dizziness and vertigo?

Dizziness is one of the most common reasons why someone will visit the doctor’s office. 70% of people are likely to experience dizziness at some stage in their lives and it is estimated that 15% of the population has dizziness with the prevalence increasing with an increase in age.

The sensation of dizziness can be described in many ways such as a light headedness, rocking, swaying, on a boat, off balance etc while vertigo is the sensation that either you or the room is spinning.

Dizziness and vertigo can be intermittent (this means they may come and go) or they may be constant. Depending on the cause, different things can aggravate the dizziness. Paying attention to what may aggravate or ease your symptoms will be helpful in narrowing down an accurate diagnosis.

Clinical consultation with an osteopath

Dizziness and vertigo conditions require a practitioner to have additional training and experience to diagnose and treat these conditions, therefore ensuring that your practitioner has advanced training and experience in the field of dizziness is important in helping you achieve your results.

During a consultation with an osteopath for dizziness they will take a thorough case history to help narrow down what may be the cause of your dizziness.

Some assessments that may be performed include but are not limited to:

• BPPV assessment
• Vestibular assessment screening and tests
• Balance tests
• Gait assessment
• Neck and jaw assessment

Expected outcomes

Over the course of treatment, you should see a correlation between your exercises and your symptoms. As your exercises improve and progress, your symptoms should also improve.

If you are improving with your exercises but your symptoms do not change, then treatment may need to be altered to better address your condition.