Vertigo
People suffering from vertigo have the illusion that the environment is moving around them, or that they are moving with regard to the environment. The condition generally originates in the peripheral nervous system, for example, due to a disorder of the inner ear like Ménière’s disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), or labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis. It can as well be due to pathology in the CNS (central vertigo), like haemorrhages, ischaemia, or CNS tumours, infection or trauma. Neck pathology can also lead to vertigo.
A systematic review of research on all types of acupuncture for Ménière’s syndrome has suggested a beneficial effect of acupuncture, both for patients in the acute phase of the disease and for those who have had the syndrome for a number of years. Randomised controlled trials have been almost entirely Chinese and most have compared different types of acupuncture (or acupuncture and related procedures), rather than acupuncture vs. non-acupuncture/other therapies. Many have focused specifically on cervical vertigo, involving insufficient blood supply through the vertebral arteries (which supply the brainstem and cerebellum). Recent examples found that: combined therapy of electroacupuncture and acupoint injection was more effective than routine acupuncture or electroacupuncture alone for cervical vertigo; acupoint massage was superior to manipulation; acupuncture was better than moxibustion for relieving or eliminating symptoms of vertigo, with no adverse effects (Zhang 2008); and that ginger moxibustion was superior to acupuncture treatment (Xiaoxiang 2006). A controlled nonrandomised study found both penetrating needling on head points and traditional acupuncture could effectively relieve cervical vertigo, reduce the attack frequency and improve accompanying symptoms.
Dizziness/vertigo is among the most common reasons for presentation to a physician. It has many causes, and varies from mild to severe, transient to permanent.(Dizziness/Vertigo/Imbalance | Lynnea Villanova MD, 2022)
Acupuncture can help to relieve vertigo by:
activating the left superior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, and stimulating the release of acupuncture-specific neural substrates in the cerebellum (Yoo 2044);
increasing blood flow velocity in the vertebral-basilar artery, thus improving cervical vertigo (Li 2011; Qi 2011; Kang 2008)
increasing endorphins (Han 2004) and neuropeptide Y levels (Lee 2009), which can help to combat negative affective states;
stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to the release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors, and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz, 1987; Zhao 2008; Cheng 2009);
reducing inflammation, by promoting the release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Zijlstra 2003; Kavoussi 2007);
increasing local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which aids the dispersal of swelling
Acupuncture may help to relieve vertigo by activating the left superior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, and stimulating the release of acupuncture-specific neural substrates in the cerebellum (Yoo 2044); increasing blood flow velocity in the vertebral-basilar artery, thus improving cervical vertigo (Li 2011; Qi 2011; Kang 2008); increasing endorphins (Han 2004) and neuropeptide Y levels (Lee 2009), which can help to combat negative affective states; stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, which leads to release of endorphins and other neurohumoral factors, and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord (Pomeranz, 1987; Zhao 2008; Cheng 2009); reducing inflammation, by promoting the release of vascular and immunomodulatory factors (Zijlstra 2003; Kavoussi 2007); increasing local microcirculation (Komori 2009), which aids the dispersal of swelling.
References
Bibliography: Lynneavillanovamd.com. 2022. Dizziness/Vertigo/Imbalance | Lynnea Villanova MD. [online] Available at: <https://www.lynneavillanovamd.com/conditions-treated/neurological-conditions/dizzinessvertigoimbalance/> [Accessed 7 July 2022].
Acupuncture.org.uk. 2022. Vertigo – BAcC. [online] Available at: <https://acupuncture.org.uk/about-acupuncture/_fact-sheets/vertigo/> [Accessed 7 July 2022].
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