Balance & Dizziness Medicine - Balance Medicine Pembroke Pines, FL
Balance: One of the leading health concerns for people over 60 is falling. Balance in walking and standing is dependent on many factors. The elderly have a higher risk of contracting many different kinds of diseases that can interfere with balance, including cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration, which all affect vision; peripheral neuropathy, which affects position sense in the feet and legs; and vestibular-system degeneration.
Balance is also dependent on good muscle strength and joint mobility. A sedentary lifestyle and arthritis or other diseases of bones and muscles can compromise strength and mobility. Yet even healthy people over 65 appear to have more trouble than younger people in maintaining their balance on soft or uneven surfaces when visual cues are not available (e.g., in the dark).
Dizziness in the elderly can be a result of problems with the vestibular, central (brain-related), and vision systems, as well as from neuropathy, psychological causes, and unknown causes. Vestibular disorders, however, are thought to be the most common cause of dizziness in older people, responsible for approximately 50% of the reported dizziness in the elderly.
Until recently, relatively little was known about the consequences of aging for the vestibular system. Anatomical studies have shown that the number of nerve cells in the vestibular system grows smaller with age, beginning at about age 55. The loss becomes more severe as age progresses.
Of all vestibular disorders, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common. Treatment for this disorder is through vestibular rehabilitation therapy (balance-retraining exercises and maneuvers).
The ability to move about freely is an important factor in the quality of life of both younger and older people. A healthy vestibular system is vitally important to freedom of movement.
If you have further questions, or would like to setup an appointment please call 954-983-1119. You can also contact us via our Web Contact Form
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a disorder that causes vertigo, dizziness, and other symptoms due to debris that has collected within a part of the inner ear. This debris, called otoconia, is made up of small crystals of calcium carbonate (sometimes referred to colloquially as “ear rocks”). With head movement, the displaced otoconia shift, sending false signals to the brain.
Symptoms of BPPV are almost always precipitated by a change in head position. Getting out of bed and rolling over in bed are two common "problem" motions. Some people feel dizzy and unsteady when they tip their heads back to look up. An intermittent pattern of these symptoms is usual.
About 20% of all dizziness is due to BPPV. The most common cause of BPPV in people under age 50 is head injury. About 50% of dizziness in older people is due to BPPV. In half of all cases, BPPV is idiopathic, which means that it occurs for no known reason. BPPV is also associated with migraine.
Diagnostic tests for BPPV include tests that look for the characteristic nystagmus (jumping of the eyes), such as the Dix-Hallpike test and electronystagmography (ENG).
Treatment may include individualized vestibular physical therapy exercises designed to help “retrain the brain.”