Dizziness and vertigo are with the top three reasons why individuals visit a physician. Back pain and headaches are the other two reasons. Symptoms such as dizziness, vertigo and dysequilibrium actually are estimated to affect forty% of patients forty years of age and older. Of those age 65 years or older, twentyfive % are estimated to incur a fall and thus a fall related injury. Falling is typically a direct consequence of dizziness, primarily in this group of elder individuals and risk of falling can rise considerably when those individuals have other diagnoses such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or any of the gamut of neurologic defects such as Alzheimer's. A sample report of US emergency room visits, from 1995-2004, showed that vertigo and dizziness were indeed elevated on the list of reported presenting complaints as cause for visiting to the hospital. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey demonstrated that patients with symptomatic vestibular dysfunction have a 12-fold increase in the likelihood of suffering a fall.
It has also been associated that more frequent medical consultation, sick leave, and disruption of daily activities in general, have been associated with dizziness symptoms, particularly vestibular vertigo.
Medical research on ill health is commonly disease focused as compared to symptoms related. This generalized approach may actually underestimate the reality of such common symptoms as vertigo and dizziness, which as discussed, rank high as patient complaints in primary care, yet evade accurate diagnosis and remain unexplained in 80% of cases. Making situations worse, even though symptoms of vertigo and dizziness can be associated with a wide variety of other disorders, all of which necessitate a multidisciplinary approach to management, said dizziness symptoms rarely trigger proper referral to a qualified specialist for proper evaluation. The most common conditions which cause such symptoms as vertigo and dizziness for the most part remain largely undiagnosed outside of specialty clinics such as my own.
Because of the substantial risk of injury and the resultant decline in independence and/or quality of life following a fall, predicting who is at risk is most helpful, and for individuals who lessen that risk through a fall prevention program such as ours, falls and otherwise looming fall related injuries may be prevented. Our clinic does just that using computerized technology, which oddly, only takes seconds to perform. Balance is not a solo physiologic function. The sensory inputs for balance include vision, vestibular, and proprioceptive feedback. While an individual is walking, the brain must instantaneously integrate this data and orchestrate proper motor planning.
This function must be supported by an adequate neuromusculoskeletal system. All of these factors change with age. Further, any disease related reduction in any of these systems further impairs balance. Bilateral vestibular loss is a significant contributor in 25% of elderly patients with imbalance. Unmanaged vertigo is a severe risk factor for falling as well.
Our office, as a community service, does not charge for balance/risk-of-fall analysis. Call my office (below) to be screened.