A big greeting to all, today I come with a topic that is very common, since at some point in our lives we have lost our balance, and say "I got dizzy or dizzy " indifferently, as if they were synonymous, and they are not the same, but this shows that not everyone has the clarity of what each concept is, so I would like to leave each of the terms well defined for everyone.
As so far I have been kind of starting information, where I explain in an easy way the anatomical structures that are involved in what I want to explain as well as the physiological bases, in this case will not be the exception, this is fundamental to understand everything that happens in us. Without more to add, let's start with the development.
Both entities, dizziness and vertigo, affect the balance of the person, therefore, it is important to define what this is before going into the subject:
The ability to maintain the body in an upright position, thanks to compensatory movements involving global and fine motor skills, which occurs when the individual is standing still (static balance) or in motion, "moving" (dynamic balance)" (Mosston, 1993).
The shared concept is self-explanatory, and even if we cannot all define it in the same way, we know clearly what we are referring to in practice. And the interruption or impossibility to maintain balance in some activity is what is affected when the person presents dizziness or vertigo.
When we are in bipedal position and we remain static, without falling, we talk about static balance, and when we maintain our balance running or walking, it is dynamic balance, because we can stand upright, controlled, while moving in one direction.
Before continuing I must say that in fact Dizziness and Vertigo are not the same thing, in fact they are very different. To continue, I want to mention in a general way what is the Vestibular System, this is the one in charge of the balance of the body.
It is located inside the ear, and is intimately in contact with the nervous system, sending the signals of which are the variations in the position of the body, so that it acts and maintains the desired position. It is really a very complex, dynamic and constant process, but it is necessary for the body to be balanced (statically or dynamically).
But it is not only in charge of the balance, but also of our posture, it gives us the possibility to coordinate the movements of the body and the head, also to fix the look in a specific point of the space, as you can see, its function is very important, even though it is not a system as well known as others.
When the vestibular system is affected, it can generate dizziness or vertigo, or even both. But we must be clear about the following: Vertigo is always related to affections in the vestibular system, but dizziness can have different causes other than this one.
But, What is each one of them?
- Vertigo always refers to a sensation of movement, it is like a kind of hallucination of movement, that what surrounds us is moving, but everything is fictitious, it is only the perception.
This can be subclassified into peripheral vertigo, which is caused by problems in the middle ear, and central vertigo, which is caused by problems in the brain itself or in the encephalic stem. Fortunately, the latter is the least frequent.
- In the case of dizziness we also lose our balance, or it is affected, but it is accompanied by a general malaise that includes sensations such as headache, vomiting, instability, people may even faint after a dizzy spell, sweating, coldness, among other symptoms.
Starting from the characteristics of each one, previously mentioned, the causes can be deduced, which evidently, as everything in medicine, is very varied.
Peripheral vertigo is related to problems (infection is the most frequent) in the vestibular system, which is the one that most frequently appears; but when we talk about dizziness the causes vary a lot, for example, an arterial hypotension can generate dizziness, the same a hypoglycemia, a problem in the cervical spine, use of lenses with the wrong formula, in short, there are many options that can produce it.
For the person who suffers it, both entities are very uncomfortable, because they limit him/her a lot, and the discomfort usually remains for some time after the event has passed. Vertigo can end up making the person also feel nausea, headache, and worsen the situation.
We must be very careful when talking to the patient to be able to define if what he had was a dizziness or vertigo, because of what I said in the beginning, it is not always easy for people to differentiate one thing from the other. But I hope that now those who have read this publication know the difference between one thing and the other.
Thank you for your support, in advance.
This publication supports the teemsocial community with 5% beneficiary.
