Acupuncture For Vertigo (+ Acupressure and Herbs)

Acupuncture is a part of traditional Chinese medicine, and it is widely known to ease various health conditions. It balances the energy flow or life force known as qi which flows throughout our body meridians. One of the conditions of which most Americans suffer is definitely vertigo. This article will change the mind of many who turn to drug alternatives and hopefully guide them to choose acupuncture to relieve vertigo symptoms.

Vertigo is a disorder that affects balance in many ways. The study says that it usually affects women and people who are 65 and older. The truth is it can happen to anyone, and it is in fact a symptom caused by conditions in the inner ear, brain, and sensory nerve pathway. Vertigo is very uncomfortable since a person experiences dizziness, room spinning, nausea and vomiting.

According to Chinese medicine, the imbalance in the head, especially the ears, causes vertigo. Also, in TCM dizziness and vertigo happen due to root deficiency and branch excess. The point is that acupuncture restores all these imbalances, and it can heal vertigo at its root.

There are two ways in which acupuncture treats vertigo.

First, it resolves the phlegm-heat which causes the symptoms of vertigo. Second, it strengthens the Spleen Qi preventing the phlegm-heat from developing.

Makari Wellness – Best Acupuncture For Vertigo in San Diego Area

Michael Woodworth, a licensed and certified Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist in San Diego CA, is the founder of Makari Wellness and a holistic practitioner with more than fifteen years of experience. He offers a distinctive combination of natural solutions for treating vertigo and related symptoms such as migraines, nausea, and dizziness.

Makari Wellness offers many different acupuncture styles, some of them being Japanese and traditional Chinese, but also dry needling and herbal medicine. Michael uses the combination of neurological acupuncture and herbal medicine supplements to remedy the chemical components of many health issues. Book your consultation today, free yourself from prejudice and experience the best acupuncture treatment for vertigo. For more information call us at (888) 871-8889.

Acupuncture for Vertigo

Acupuncture is an alternative way of treating numerous conditions and has helped many people get rid of persistent aches. It stimulates the central nervous system which will release chemicals into the brain, spinal cord, and muscles. The stimulated change in chemicals may cause the body to heal naturally and raise overall performance.

Acupuncture involves needles penetrating the skin and TCM practitioners claim that there are more than 2,000 points in the human body connected by meridians. The pathways by which the points are connected cause the flow of Qi energy. Acupuncture’s goal is to restore the balance of the body’s energy which will further affect the roots causing the condition.

Acupuncture has been used by TCM practitioners to relieve pain, dizziness, and vertigo for many years back. Some believe that it can permanently treat vertigo, depending on its severity. It will relieve the pain by spurring the affected nerve to deliver the hormones and stimulate biochemical response to lessen the nausea and dizziness.

What Acupuncture Exactly Does to Treat Vertigo?

First, we must be familiar with the factors that cause vertigo in our body. In TCM vertigo is considered root deficiency and branch excess and it will involve phlegm, wind, or fire. The following are the common factors of vertigo:

• Heart and spleen weakness can be caused by qi and blood deficiency, stress, anxiety, etc.
• Kidney Jing deficiency may be caused by aging and extended illness.
• Liver Yin leads to rise in liver Yang or Wind which is caused depression or anger.
• Middle Jiao by phlegm fire and dampness caused by improper diet and stress.

So, acupuncture will get all these imbalances in order by:

• Lessening inflammation
• Stimulate microcirculation
• Needling point such as PC6 and ST36 may reduce dizziness and vertigo
• Increase endorphin and stimulate muscle-located nerves
• Increase the blood flow thus improving the vertebral artery

Acupressure for Vertigo

Acupressure is like acupuncture, but instead using of needles manual pressure is applied. It is also based on the concept of life energy and the aim is to clear all the blockages in the body meridians. Acupressure is about rebalancing Yang, Yin, and Qi stimulating the free flow of energy.

Acupressure is effective in many ways and one of the conditions that it eases is vertigo. It is a natural way of applying pressure on crucial body points to reduce dizziness, nausea, migraines, etc.

Acupressure and Acupuncture Points for Relieving Vertigo Symptoms

Both acupuncture and acupressure are holistic and natural methods that ask for the knowledge of specific body points to which the pressure or needles is applied. An acupuncturist’s job is to carefully listen and observe the body to find the roots and discover which organs are out of balance.

Acupressure and acupuncture points are:

Herbs For Vertigo

Herbs have been used for thousands of years in TCM to treat numerous diseases and conditions. This is the case with vertigo, migraines, headaches, and nausea. There are still those who turn to the power of plants to ease the symptoms. Some of the herbal formulas and herbs used for vertigo include:

• Chuan Xing Cha Tiao San – helps with liver and kidney Yin deficiency as well as Qi and blood deficiency.
• Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang – strengthens the spleen and transforms the phlegm.
• Zhi Yung Tang – moves and tonifies the Qi and clears the heat.

Other herbs include Ginkgo biloba, turmeric, cayenne, ginger root, gongjin-dan.

What is Vertigo?

Those who suffer from vertigo define it as the sensation of motion or spinning accompanied by dizziness. What is even more uncomfortable is that even though you are standing or sitting, you feel as the world spins around or as floating in space. The sensations of movement may be triggered by turning your head too quickly or looking down from a great height.

Vertigo attacks last for about a few seconds to several minutes, but in some serious cases, people can suffer from this feeling for hours, days, weeks, or months. It is not a hereditary disease but the conditions which cause this symptom may be running in the family.

It is very important to understand that vertigo is not a disease but rather a symptom of some other condition occurring in one’s body.

Types of Vertigo

Vertigo is mostly caused by the inner ear and brainstem issues and there are two types of it:

• Peripheral vertigo is mostly caused by inner ear problems and thus the balance. The inner ear organs transmit the message through nerves to the brain depending on person’s gravity and position. It is usually more severe and common for those suffering chronically from this condition. Some of the common causes of peripheral vertigo are inflammation, Meniere’s disease, and acoustic neuroma.
• Central vertigo is closely related to the central nervous system, and it is more gradual in the beginning. It is caused by brain and brainstem issues such as infection, tumor, traumatic brain injury or stroke. Furthermore, some patients may have cervical spine issues which leads to vertigo as on the main symptoms.

Causes of Vertigo

As we already stated vertigo is the symptom usually caused by some syndromes or conditions. Some of the conditions causing vertigo include the following.

• Labyrinthitis – the inner ear inflammation or infection causes the condition called labyrinthitis. The nerves located in the ear labyrinth send information of sound, motion, and position to the brain. Besides dizziness and vertigo, people who suffer from this disease may experience headaches, vision change, and even deafness.
• Vestibular neuritis – it is the inflammation or infection of the vestibular nerve, and it is similar to labyrinthitis but it doesn’t attack the hearing. It causes vertigo accompanied by nausea, vomiting, blurred vision and sensation of being off balance.
• Meniere’s disease – this disease is mostly associated with vertigo, and it causes the fluids to build up in the inner ear which leads to tinnitus (also known as ear ringing), vertigo attacks, and loss of hearing. This is the plain example of peripheral vertigo and according to Hearing Health Foundation between 40,000 and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.
• Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) – it is another common vertigo condition and is typically triggered by changes in the head position. Those who suffer from BPPV experience vertigo when sitting up, turning from side to side in bed, or lying down. Structures called otolith organs are part of the internal ear and contain fluids of carbonate crystals which may get dislodged. When this occurs, a person’s brain does not receive proper information on the position thus causing the dizziness and spinning.
• Cholesteatoma – if the person experiences repeated ear infection it will cause a noncancerous skin growth development in the middle ear. The condition leads directly to dizziness, vertigo, and loss of hearing.