Complaints of dizziness are very common. 35% of persons over 40 and 80% of persons over 65 have experienced some amount of dizziness.
The most common single cause of dizziness is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. As the name implies, this is a room spinning feeling that is intermittent, related to your head position and is not a progressive disease process. What happens is that crystals from one part of the inner ear move to another part of the inner ear and press on cells that send the message to the brain that your head is moving, when in fact it is not. No medication will help this, BUT there is a physical treatment technique that can be very effective in providing quick relief of the symptoms.
So I recommend that if you experience vertigo, see your Doctor to confirm there is no serious cause, and then do not settle for the “it’s part of aging, I just have to put up with it” approach. A consult with a physiotherapist with experience treating “dizzy people” may be very helpful.
Doug Christie Physiotherapy
