Can Stress Cause Vertigo? How Emotional Stress and Physical Trauma Affect Vertigo

Vertigo is a disorder that affects balance. It produces a sensation of movement even though there is none actually occurring. Patients with vertigo usually feel like the world is spinning around them. This occurs when an issue within the inner ear disrupts signals from the vestibular system that tells the brain where the head is in relation to movement. As far as what can cause vertigo, the answer can be very complex and differ from person to person.

Can Stress Cause Vertigo?

Emotional triggers can cause vertigo in a slightly different way than a physical trauma does. Although it is not well understood as of yet, emotional stress connected to adverse life events can be a trigger for vertigo. High levels of anxiety, stress and depression could trigger the symptoms of an underlying issue such as an inner ear condition, but they can also cause vertigo by themselves.

How to Prevent Vertigo Caused by Stress

Firstly, you should seek out professional help to determine the cause of your vertigo. Beyond that, you can also take steps to reduce and manage your stress which may be contributing to your dizziness and vertigo issues.

• Healthy Diet Habits: A healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is a good way to ensure your body is getting what it needs to function optimally and will improve your overall mental health as well. Supplements like ginkgo, antioxidants, and omega-3s can also be of help as they increase blood flow to the brain. Try to avoid foods that can increase inflammation such as fried or highly processed foods, alcohol, or caffeine.
•  Practice Mindfulness: Being in tune with your mind and body signals can help you prevent stress before it becomes overwhelming. Breathing techniques, exercise, and meditation are all helpful tactics.
• Get Quality Sleep: Tiredness can take a toll on your mental and emotional health
• Drink Plenty of Water: Dehydration can cause a lot of unnecessary stress on our bodies in many ways. Also, dehydration may be causing your vertigo or worsening the symptoms. The average person needs to drink about half to two-thirds of their weight (in pounds) in ounces. For example, a 200-pound person needs around 150 ounces of water each day.

Vertigo After a Physical Trauma

Head injuries, neck injuries or concussions can interfere with proper functioning of the vestibular system and lead to vertigo symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, and vomiting.

Vertigo is a relatively common symptom with people who’ve experienced blunt trauma to the head, neck, and craniocervical junction. Injuries from a fall, motor vehicle crash, assault, and sports injury could possibly be causing you to experience vertigo, and these vertigo symptoms may persist from a week to several years.

What can happen when this type of injury occurs, is that a component of your spine, particularly in your neck, is unable to move properly and there can be damage to some of the ligaments. If the area is not stabilized and corrected, then you may experience recurrent episodes at varying frequencies.

Getting Treatment for Vertigo

From medication to surgery to simple exercises, the treatment of your vertigo will be highly dependent on its cause but working with a professional is key to finding a permanent solution for your issues with vertigo.

Working with a corrective chiropractor to figure out if your spine is aligned properly or not, especially if you’ve experienced a physical trauma, is vital to making sure that you get to full recovery from it and that you stay fully recovered. If you have vertigo and have never reached out to a chiropractor for help, we highly recommend you do so before considering drugs or surgery.

If you or someone you know is experiencing vertigo, has had a physical trauma bringing on vertigo symptoms, or is looking for how to treat vertigo naturally, send this to them so they can check out some of the other tips that we have here so they can start to take action on changing their lives.

At Align Wellness Center, we’ve treated many patients with vertigo. One of the questions we get asked often is, exactly what can cause vertigo? While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what’s causing your vertigo, and what will help relieve vertigo symptoms, our team is dedicated to finding the root of the problem.

If you’d like tips on how you can stay healthy and well without drugs and surgery, go ahead and check out other articles on this site. If you continue to struggle with vertigo and dizziness, give us a call at Align Wellness Center (847) 860-6599 or schedule an appointment online. Contact us today or stop by the office. We’re located at 900 Skokie Blvd., Suite 113, Northbrook, IL, 60062.