Osteoporosis and Vertigo (Dizziness)

Yoga Teachers often have people with osteoporosis in their classes - it is recommended as a good form of exercise (gentle yet strong and can develop bone strength from the weight bearing postures we do). At times I know some of these students told me they had vertigo and dizziness. Well - just saw this paper on the association between osteoporosis and vertigo!


People who have osteoporosis are more likely to also have vertigo, according to a study published in the March 24, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 209 people with benign positional vertigo with no known cause such as head trauma or ear surgery. Vertigo is an inner ear disorder that is a common cause of dizziness. The disorder is believed to be caused by loose calcium carbonate crystals that move in the sensing tubes of the inner ear.
The people with vertigo were compared to 202 people with no history of dizziness. People with osteoporosis, or low bone density, were three times more likely to have vertigo, and people with osteopenia, which is the stage before osteoporosis, were twice as likely to have vertigo as people who had normal bone density.

In women, 25 percent of those with vertigo had osteoporosis, compared to nine percent of those who did not have vertigo, and 47 percent of those with vertigo had osteopenia, compared to 33 percent of those without vertigo. For men, 12 percent of those with vertigo had osteoporosis, compared to six percent of those without vertigo, and 40 percent of those with vertigo had osteopenia, compared to 27 percent of those without vertigo

"These findings suggest a problem with calcium metabolism in people with vertigo," said study author Ji Soo Kim, MD, PhD, of Seoul National University College of Medicine in Korea. "Women most often have their first case of vertigo in their 50s, when they are also having a drop in bone mass due to loss of estrogen. Estrogen is one of the main hormones that influence calcium and bone metabolism."

Kim said researchers haven't determined the role of estrogen in vertigo. Kim noted that the link between osteoporosis and vertigo was also found in men, so other factors must also play a role.

ASource: American Academy of Neurology (2009, March 29). Vertigo Linked To
Osteoporosis.

Is there a treatment for this????

Yes, I found this reference on how to treat vertigo: A new guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology found that the best treatment for vertigo is the easiest and quickest one. The guideline on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), an inner ear disorder that is a common cause of dizziness, is published in the May 27, 2008, issue of Neurology. The guideline determined that in many cases the vertigo can be treated with simple maneuvers--a series of head and body movements performed by a doctor or therapist while the patient sits on a bed or table."The good news is that this type of vertigo is easily treated," said guideline author Terry D. Fife, MD, of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Barrow Neurological Institute. Fife is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "Instead of telling patients to 'wait it out' or having them take drugs, we can perform a safe and quick treatment that is immediate and effective."

Several maneuvers are in use for vertigo. The guideline found that canalith repositioning procedure, also called the Epley maneuver, is safe and effective for people of all ages. The Semont maneuver is possibly an effective treatment. To develop the guideline, the authors analyzed all available scientific studies on the topic.

The disorder is believed to be caused by loose calcium carbonate crystals that move in the sensing tubes of the inner ear. The maneuvers move the calcium crystals out of the sensing tube and into another inner chamber of the ear, from which they can be absorbed.