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Upper Cervical Chiropractic & Meniere’s DiseaseRecovery
Vestibular diseases have been a demanding section of bodydisorders that need accurate diagnosis and recognition. Thesediseases involve the mechanism which controls the equilibrium ofbody and auditory sensation.
Initially, when a patient consults a physician about theoccurring sign and symptoms, it is difficult for them to reach toexact diagnosis because the symptoms suggest mild vertigo or aproblem in the inner ear, which are handled using somemedicines.
Surprisingly, vestibular diseases need much more attention thanmerely prescribing medicines, which don’t prove to be effective incertain cases.
Meniere’s disease is one of the vestibular diseases which wasfirst described by the French physician, Prosper Meniere, in thelate 1800s. In those times, it was believed that vertigo, tinnitus,and impaired hearing are concerned with a problem in the brain.
However, Prosper Meniere presented the notion that ringing ofears (tinnitus), loss of balance and equilibrium (vertigo) andhearing loss are concerned associated with the inner ear ratherthan the brain.
Once this theory was accepted, Meniere’s disease recovery waslooked into greater detail to bring forward newly formulated andadvanced treatment plans into practice.
Before moving towards Meniere’s disease recovery it is importantto thoroughly understand the disease. According to the Committee onHearing and Equilibrium of the American Academy ofOtolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Meniere’s disease is achronic vestibular disorder that is considered incurable.
It is an idiopathic disorder caused by the unnecessaryaccumulation of endolymph in the inner ear. In order to have aclearer picture, you must know the basic anatomy of the inner ear.The inner ear consists of the membranous and osseous labyrinth.
The former contains a fluid called endolymph while the spacebetween osseous and membranous labyrinth contains perilymph. Whenthe number of endolymph increases in the membranous labyrinth itleads to Meniere’s disease.
Once this is disturbed the structures present in membranouslabyrinth work improperly thus, presenting the respective signs.Although medical science has reached new heights of progress yetthere are certain diseases that have unknown causes. There areseveral theories that discuss the possible causes of Meniere’sdisease yet none of them is confirmed.
Patients of Meniere’s disease appear with symptoms which areeasy and difficult to categorize at the same time. In this disease,patients complain of attacks. The disease does not show symptoms24/7. In the initial stage, they experience violent vertigo,tinnitus, hearing loss and aural fullness for a minimum of 20minutes to a maximum of 24 hours.
In late stages, the symptoms are accompanied by difficultywalking at night, complicated visual and hearing problems andTumarkin’s otolithic crisis in which the patient falls to theground by losing control on posture.
Meniere’s disease affects thousands of people around the world.Due to improper diagnosis and absence of the official registrationsystem of victims, the exact number can’t be concluded. However,surveys claim that the age of most of the victims ranges from 40 to60. In the elderly, the occurrence of this vestibular diseaseincreases.
As far as the cure of Meniere’s disease is concerned it isconsidered incurable. To conclude a cure for any disease it isnecessary to first know the root cause. Without knowing the rootcause all treatment plans are always experimental.
There are several treatment approaches proposed for Meniere’sdisease recovery but none of them promises complete cure ofdisease. Physicians suggest using drugs and cut down sodium use toreduce the fluid in membranous labyrinth. Another way to manage thecondition is Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) in which thepatient is helped to control and gain control of theirposture.
Among all the proposed treatment ideas the best—known is UpperCervical Chiropractic. Expert chiropractors claim that Meniere’sdisease recovery is concerned with spinal cord involvement. Thespinal cord is the part of the Central Nervous System (CNS) whichconnects the body with the brain.
The spinal cord being the most crucial part of the body’s neuralcommunication system can be responsible for Meniere’s disease.Chiropractors believe that due to misalignment of the spinal cordthere is a possibility of exerting pressure on the brainstem whichultimately causes symptoms to occur.
The misalignment occurs due to improper sleeping or sittingpatterns, accidents, trauma to the spinal cord or pathologicalinterference. In the misalignment of the spinal cord, the firstvertebrae called Atlas (C1) and second vertebrae called Axis (C2)are affected. Being the first and second vertebrae they are closestin relation to the brainstem therefore they directly impair thenormal functioning of the brainstem.
The fifth cranial nerve called Trigeminal nerve is affectedwhich innervates the Eustachian tube in the ear. This impairmentproduces a feeling of ear fullness.
Several types of research have been conducted in which victimsof Meniere’s disease are provided chiropractic to align theirspinal cord. First, their spinal X-Rays were taken to confirm anydeformity at the level of C1 and C2.
After a few sessions of chiropractic, their symptoms wereobserved. It was found that their symptoms have either alleviatedor completely vanished. Most of the chiropractors reveal that mostof the patients of Meniere’s disease have a head or spinal injuryin the past 10-15 years. Usually, they neglect the injury aftertreatment but the injury turns out to have a worse effect on theability of the body to maintain posture and equilibrium.
Therefore, chiropractors perform Upper Cervical Chiropracticupon patients in a few sessions. By the end of each session, thepatient feels better. In this alternate medical technique, thepatient experiences minimum pain.
Briefly, we can conclude that Meniere’s disease is a vestibulardisorder that is associated which three characteristic symptoms;tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss. According to medical science,it is an idiopathic disease in which endolymph accumulates in theinner ear.
On the other hand, chiropractors firmly believe that it is dueto a trauma that causes misalignment of the first two vertebrae,Atlas and Axis, of the spinal cord. The misalignment causesdisturbance in the working of the brainstem. Chiropractors believethat Upper Cervical Chiropractic is the most efficient managementfor Meniere’s disease recovery.
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