Don’t let vertigo / dizziness ruin the quality of your life

Vertigo or dizziness can ruin lives. It can range from being mildly bothersome to totally destroying the quality of people’s lives. At Apex Headache Clinic, Belfast we see vast numbers of people who are seeking a cure for their vertigo or dizziness. We are extremely experienced in treating it and have a very high success rate in clearing or significantly reducing vertigo or dizziness, even in patients who have suffered it for years.  Our treatment can be life changing for many people.

Vertigo or dizziness can include a range of symptoms including- poor balance or walking like you’re drunk (when you’re not);  a feeling of lightheadedness or ‘being removed’ from the world or a head-spinning;  a foggy, heavy, cloudy or fuzzy head feeling;  a feeling of accompanying nausea/ feeling sick;  or a feeling like you have a constant hangover.  It can also make you feel mentally sluggish and can make decision making, and clear thinking difficult.  In the most severe cases, we have seen how vertigo or dizziness can confine people to their homes, and stop them being able to function.

There are two main causes of vertigo or dizziness in the community. Vertigo which stems from the inner ear or vertigo which is triggered from the upper neck region of the spine, from nerve irritation.  Very often the neck is overlooked as a cause of vertigo as usually the person has no neck pain at all and it is often misdiagnosed as vertigo from the inner ear. If the correct source of the vertigo isn’t identified, the condition may never clear. In some cases, there may be a mixture of both vertigo from the neck and vertigo from the inner ear in the same person.  Here at Apex Headache Clinic we have seen many patients who have been diagnosed elsewhere with Meniere’s disease, BPPV or another inner ear dysfunction, who did not respond to the relevant treatment for this, but they responded extremely well to our specialist treatment regime suggesting that their neck was involved in their dizziness/ vertigo presentation.

VertigoVertigo which is triggered from the neck originates from nerve irritation at the upper neck joints of the spine. This neural irritation in the upper neck results from stiffness or damage in this region, which  in turn was caused by poor posture, from a previous neck injury or just from the physical stresses which are put through the spine during normal everyday living, such as heavy lifting of children or a heavy briefcase for example.  A key feature of vertigo from the neck is that it doesn’t usually respond to medication or treatment which is given to treat inner ear vertigo.

At Apex Headache Clinic we offer a unique regime of specialised manual physiotherapy treatment for the assessment and treatment of dizziness/ vertigo called The Nelson Vertigo Approach™ which is not offered in any other clinics at this current time.  Our regime was developed by our Director of Physiotherapy, Rebecca Nelson, a Spinal & Headache, Migraine, Vertigo Physiotherapy Specialist from her experience of over 30 years of successfully treating these conditions.  Our whole team of Specialist Physiotherapists have been extensively trained and are experienced in using The Nelson Vertigo Approach™.

With each patient, a thorough examination is carried out in order to determine if their neck is the main trigger for their vertigo or dizziness. If it is, it is extremely likely that we can clear or significantly reduce it.  Following the examination, treatment is begun using Rebecca’s regime which mostly involves “hands-on” progressive manual spinal mobilisation to the upper 3 neck segments, in a gentle controlled fashion.  Treatment may also be applied to other areas of the spine, if we feel that they are involved.  We do not manipulate or “crack” the upper neck area of the spine due to the risk factors involved, and therefore our treatment regimes are safe and suitable for everyone, from children through to the elderly and pregnant women too.  Our average number of treatments will depend on each individual case, however we would expect to see appreciable improvement within 5 treatments.

If further investigations or scans are required, we have a network of leading Consultant Neurologists and Consultant ENT Surgeons in the Belfast area who will be on hand to provide additional medical management if required.

Richard Ross, a 31 year old electrician from Cullybackey said:

Suffering from vertigo or dizziness was ruining my life. I felt terrible with dizziness, every minute of every day. It was a feeling as if I had just stepped off a roller coaster ride. It didn’t matter whether I was sitting, standing, or lying down, the dizziness was still there. My balance and perception of things were completely distorted. Every night I had to sleep upright as it was too bad to bear when I lay flat. After hearing about Apex Clinic, I booked an appointment in desperation. At the first session my vertigo was diagnosed as cervical vertigo. I couldn’t believe that after the first session I started to feel some relief already. I then had a course of treatment and now my life is back on track again. I really wish that I had heard of Apex Headache Clinic much sooner, because I had suffered so badly with it for so long.

Click here to read Richard’s interview in full in our News Section.

Whilst we receive many referrals from consultant neurologists, consultant ENT surgeons, and from GPs, people can also refer themselves to us, with no GP referral necessary.

Don’t let vertigo or dizziness ruin the quality of your life. Take action now to clear it by contacting us at Apex Headache Clinic.