So often we’ll hear our patients tell about issues and symptoms that have resolved and often the statements are accompanied with the comment, “I didn’t know chiropractic and spine care could help that?” Such is the case with dizziness.
Anyone who has ridden too many rides at the fair or spun around in circles is familiar with the fairly awful feeling that can be described as dizziness or vertigo. There are many causes of vertigo but the most common diagnosis rendered to those afflicted is Idiopathic Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV. A very long title to describe dizziness that comes and goes and it’s unclear what’s causing it. Often, small calcium particles called canaliths are thought to be causing pressure on nerve endings in the middle ear which create abnormal signals to the brain. Often, the condition is simply attributed to age…presumably occurring for no apparent reason. Many times medications are attempted to control the dizziness and the accompanying nausea or special maneuvers are attempted to dislodge the offending calcium bodies. Yet this is far from the entire story.
It is well established that the first two vertebrae in the neck, those just under the head, are responsible for creating nerve signals to brain which tell the body where it is relative to gravity. When these vertebrae move normally, the healthy signals keep us upright and comfortable and able to walk and navigate normally. Should abnormality of function in these upper neck spinal joints occur (vertebral subluxation), abnormal signals or diminished signal may result which then causes the brain to get faulty information….thus, resulting in dizziness.
A recent article published in The Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research demonstrated just such a problem and full resolution of that problem with the application of chiropractic care. As is often seen in our facility, a young lady, 33 years old, was suffering from dizziness of unknown origin. She had present to an otolaryngologist (ENT) for medication and the maneuver described. Unfortunately, this wasn’t successful and she then visited a chiropractic physician who diagnosed upper neck/cervical joint dysfunction (vertebral subluxation) and prescribed a course of care. She enjoyed full resolution of her dizziness with the care provided. The problem was abnormality of the movement of the two vertebrae in the upper neck sending faulty movement information to the brain….and, as the doctor of chiropractic corrected those patterns of movement, the information to the brain normalized and the dizziness resolved.
So if you or someone you love is experiencing dizziness….a visit to a chiropractic physician just might have you also saying, “I didn’t know chiropractic helped that”!
