The Level Headed Physio Blog

When we look at the causes for dizziness and vertigo, the vestibular system is a crucial focus of our assessment. Many of the causes for vertigo originate from the vestibular system, but what exactly is it? Let's take a look. The Vestibular Apparatus: One half of the inner ear and responsible for motion detection The Purpose of the Vestibular System The vestibular system is primarily responsible for the estimation of body position and motion. The input that comes to the vesti

A discussion around vertigo ultimately ends up with a discussion about crystals. Which will often then lead to the question of, what exactly are crystals? The first thing they are is normal. They belong in the ear. It's more about what happens when they don't quite stay put. What is a crystal? When talking about vertigo, the crystals referenced are not actually crystals at all. They are something called otoconia. These otoconia are essentially microscopic fragments of calcium