• Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
The Brain Health Magazine
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
The Brain Health Magazine
No Result
View All Result

BPPV Will Make Your Head Spin!

Dizziness After Concussion

in Concussion, Vestibular
June 6, 2020
0

by Kellie Pokrifka

If you are experiencing issues with dizziness and imbalance after brain injury, you may have been told to consider BPPV. But what is BPPV, besides a tongue twister that is almost impossible to pronounce?

BPPV stands for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. (Yes, somehow the full term is even more difficult to pronounce than the acronym.) BPPV is the most common deficit to the vestibular system after trauma such as brain injury. It is a constant feeling of movement, even when you’re not moving, that occurs due to the crystals in your inner ears.

What are these inner ear crystals? Made up of calcium carbonate, otoconia, as the crystals are called, e normally reside within a gel-like substance. When the gel moves, such as when you tip your head back, neurotransmitters send an alert to your brain that you are moving.

The physical trauma of a TBI can cause the crystals to dislodge from their normal position and deposit themselves in semicircular canals within the inner ear. Since they are out of place, they can no longer send appropriate signals to the brain. They send “false alarms,” convincing the brain that there is movement even when you are perfectly still. 

The signals from your vision and musculoskeletal system, though, are telling your brain that you are not moving. The contradicting signals confuse your brain, which reacts by telling you that something is wrong by giving you that dreadful sense of vertigo.

In most cases, vertigo typically lasts less than one minute, although some cases will unfortunately persist until the head is repositioned. BPPV is only affected by movement, so there is no continual sense of dizziness. It will not affect headache, movement coordination, hearing, or fainting.

Luckily, BPPV is effectively treated. Several protocols can be utilized such as the Epley Maneuver, as well as similar procedures like the Semont Maneuver, the Foster Maneuver, and the Brandt-Daroff Exercise. A physical therapist trained in vestibular rehabilitation may be your best instructor about these adjustments. Be sure to consult your doctor(s) before making any changes to your recovery plan.

If you are experiencing BPPV, or other forms of vertigo or dizziness, you should address the issue as soon as possible. These symptoms can dramatically affect your balance, which can be incredibly dangerous. Individuals who reported dizziness are 12 times more likely to fall. Forty percent of all traumatic brain injuries in the US result from falls. On top of that, after sustaining an initial brain injury, a person is more susceptible to additional TBI. Impaired balance is clearly not an issue to be taken lightly. Consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Kellie is a TBI survivor and works as an intermediary between the experts and the patients with brain injuries.

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare Via EmailPinterest
Next Post
There is Always Hope

There is Always Hope

SIGN UP

BLOG

Neuroplasticity and Meditation

Neuroplasticity and Meditation

By Dr. Shane Steadman, DC, DACNB, DCBCN, CNS We often think of meditation as a metaphysical or religious practice. Many use activities such as mindfulness, deep breathing, and meditation to calm down the sympathetic system (fight or flight) to help us get through the day. But what if we thought of it from a neurological […]

Read more
How to Use Turquoise for Mindfulness

How to Use Turquoise for Mindfulness

By Kristen Brown Creating a calm and focused mind can be tricky in today’s world, but when you tap into the power of turquoise you can bring back the mindfulness you seek. Whether you use it as a tool during meditation or yoga, wear it as jewelry, or simply keep loose stones around your house […]

Read more
Setbacks After Brain Injury

Setbacks After Brain Injury

By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief Setbacks. They’re a fact of life, right? After a brain injury, setbacks can be devastating. They can feel like the end of the world, wrapping you in a feeling of isolation and despair. Throughout the course of my recovery, it was only natural that I would encounter setbacks. Most of these […]

Read more
Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

By Amy Zellmer, Editor-in-chief What You Need: 1 ¼ cup (280g) tuna in olive oil, drained 1 tbsp. tomato puree 1 small red onion, finely chopped ½ Granny Smith apple 8 lettuce leaves Put the tuna and half of the oil from the can in a bowl and mix with the tomato puree. Chop the […]

Read more
Mindfulness Proving Powerful for Injured Brains

Mindfulness Proving Powerful for Injured Brains

By Deborah Zelinsky, O.D.  “For many brain injury survivors, mindfulness is an essential practice that helps regulate their mental health, mood changes, and memory.” That comment – from the Headway Company, which works with affordable mental health services – suggests why mindfulness meditation has undergone scientific scrutiny as a technique to bring relief to patients […]

Read more
Why is Mindfulness Important for Your Workout?

Why is Mindfulness Important for Your Workout?

By Amy Zellmer A workout for the sole purpose of physical exercise can only provide limited health benefits. It can help you stay fit to some level and boost your serotonin levels to some points. But, when you add mindfulness into your workout, it becomes the secret ingredient to overall well-being, including physical and mental […]

Read more
Mindfulness and TBI

Mindfulness and TBI

By James A. Heuer, PA In recent studies, mindfulness proved to help improve the cognitive state of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)  patients. It is said that mindfulness assists TBI patients with keeping their focus on the present moment. In short, mindfulness is the state of awareness resulting from consciously paying attention. Since healing from a […]

Read more
Mentally Mindful

Mentally Mindful

By Amy Zellmer “Mindfulness clears the windshield of the mind so that we can see things as they really are.” Travis Eliot What is Mindfulness? A state of nonjudgmental awareness of what’s happening in the present moment, including the awareness of one’s own thoughts, feelings, and senses. You act mindfully when you listen to a […]

Read more
Caregiver Corner: Art as a Means of Mindfulness

Caregiver Corner: Art as a Means of Mindfulness

By Ian Hebeisen Mindfulness comes in many shapes and forms. It doesn’t have to be hardcore meditation for a solid hour once a day – that’s simply not realistic for everybody. For some people it might be a simple prayer and reflection at the end of the day, for others it might be doodling in […]

Read more

INSTAGRAM

Follow Us!

  • Some of our book award goodies arrived today … the swag looks pretty good with this book 🥇 

#ConcussionDiscussions #author #publisher #writer #blogger #braininjury #tbi #concussion #pcs #anthology #FunctionalNeurology
  • I am thrilled to share that Concussion Discussions has won TWO book awards for excellence in publishing. A huge thanks to all of the contributors who helped make this book award-winning:
@steadmanshane 
@dr.perry.maynard 
@integratedbraincenters 
@dockeiser 
@portlandchiropracticneurology1 
@midcoastbrain 
@drszimmerman 
@neurowellnessdoc 
@learningrx_brain_training 
@healingresponse 
@dr.habanova 
@rezzimaxpaintuner 
@bagnell_brain_center 
@nurenbergparis 
@frameworktms 
@northwestfunctionalneuro 
@drerikreis 
@mindeyeinstitute 
@functionalhealthunlimited 
@michironeuro 
@deltasperformance
  • #kindness
  • Comment below!
  • #kindwords
  • Yoga or Pilates? Comment below!
  • #blazeyourownpath
  • Congrats to Jeffrey M Heller recently named the newest partner of @nurenbergparis
  • It’s officially March … and that means Brain Injury Awareness Month!! Join us on March 16th for a FREE virtual event with over 20 survivors and professionals sharing their experience. Register now for FREE! www.FACESOFTBI.com/event

© Copyright 2019 | The Brain Health Magazine

  • Advertise With Us
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact Us

DISCLAIMER: THIS MAGAZINE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE - View PDF

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.