Meniere’s Disease and Chiropractic Care
Meniere’s Disease and Chiropractic Care
In the past month, we have seen many new people presenting with a history of balance and middle and inner ear symptoms. Several years ago I attended an conference where one of the presenters from the United States had had great success with the resolution of Meniere’s Disease type symptoms utilising Chiropractic care. The following blog is a summary of that presenters’ experience with the mechanism of how and why chiropractic care has had favourable results in the resolution of these symptoms.
Based upon 470 consecutive cases diagnosed by Ear Nose and Throat specialists (ENTs) presenting to a Chiropractic clinical setting for the care of Vertigo, it was concluded from clinical history and experience Meniere’s disease is a syndrome caused by Whiplash
Meniere’s disease is diagnosed when:
- At least two spontaneous episodes of vertigo lasting at least 20 minutes.
- Sensorineural low frequency hearing loss confirmed by audiometry.
- Tinnitus and/or perception of aural fullness.
It not only includes the symptom complex consisting of attacks of vertigo, low-frequency hearing loss, and tinnitus but comprises symptoms related to the Eustachian tube, the upper cervical spine, the temporomandibular joints, and the autonomic nervous system.
Meniere’s is not an inner ear disease. It is a middle ear syndrome highlighted by Eustachian tube dysfunction, caused by an upper cervical subluxation complex
It takes an average of 15 years from the time of the trauma before the onset of symptoms.
For those of you interested in the nuts and bolts of the mechanism, here goes:
The Cervical subluxation comprised of vertebral facet fixation with the skull positioned anteriorly and tilted or translated laterally, creates neurogenic inflammation resulting in peripheral autonomic nervous system sympathetic irritation. There is reduced vertebral artery blood and CSF flow, increased mandibular branch Cranial Nerve five motor activity affecting the tensor veli palatine muscles, causing Eustachian tube and Temporomandibular (TMJ) dysfunction and irritation to the nucleus of Cranial nerve eight The Vestibulocochlear Cranial Nerve associated with hearing and balance)
All of the following conditions including Meniere’s disease exhibit hyper-activation of the Trigeminal ganglion when symptomatic on PET scan:
Migraine headache, Trigeminal neuralgia, Bell’s palsy.
Additionally, patients with one of these conditions are twice as likely to experience another one of these conditions in their lifetime. More than 9 out of 10 patients will benefit from upper cervical specific chiropractic care
At Mt Eden Chiropractic we utilize a detailed analysis to exam the upper cervical spine. This involves thermography, spinal x-rays from different angles, palpation and muscle testing to confirm upper cervical and cervical subluxation patterns. This helps to assess the level of damage to the spine, how long it may have suffered from a whiplash, and our best clinical plan of how to help people.
Clinically we see very favorable results. Who do you know that may benefit from Chiropractic care?
