What is Cervicogenic Dizziness?
Your cervical spine is an area of your neck that contains both your spinal cord, neck muscles, and nerves that send messages from your brain to the rest of your body. Cervicogenic dizziness is a condition in which you experience vertigo-like symptoms caused by inflammation or injury to your cervical spine. .
Cervicogenic dizziness has a wide variety of causes. Such conditions include irritated nerves and blood vessels, a previous injury or years of bad posture resulting in a stiff neck and dizziness. A number of other medical conditions that involve the degeneration of the cervical spine can also be the cause.
Fun fact: You may have asked yourself a question like, ‘can a pinched nerve cause dizziness’ and the answer is yes–under certain conditions a nerve in the neck experiencing excess pressure can cause bouts of ‘cervicogenic’ dizziness. If you’re experiencing dizziness caused by a pinched nerve, seek dizziness treatment as soon as possible!
Head or Neck Injuries Can Result in Cervicogenic Dizziness
Cervicogenic dizziness can often result from a case of whiplash or a head injury. When ligaments of your neck take damage or are overstretched, pressure on your nerves can take place. This, in turn, can result in bouts of cervicogenic dizziness. If you are experiencing neck pain and dizziness, it’s important to act immediately. Contact us to schedule immediate cervicogenic dizziness treatment to prevent any other issues from developing.
Additional symptoms of Cervicogenic Dizziness include
- Dizziness related to neck movement or turning the head
- A sensation of spinning
- Ear pain and tinnitus, or ear ringing
- Visual disturbances while shaking the head
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck Pain and dizziness
Depending on the severity of your condition, you may also experience an unsteady gait. Such instances can be aggravated by moving your neck or your spine. You also may experience pain in your jaw (TMJ), difficulty swallowing, or fatigue, as well as problems with your arms and hands due to neuropathy.
Vascular compression can also be a cause of cervical vertigo. Vascular compression is a condition in which excess pressure is applied to a blood vessel and cranial nerve. Generally, this causes both pain and stiffness in the neck or spine, while compression in the nerves or blood vessels results in more intense dizziness.
If you’re experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, contact Schertz Physical Therapy – Biomotion PT to get professional treatment for cervicogenic dizziness in Schertz to treat your symptoms and prevent further injury.
Cervicogenic Headaches and Dizziness
Keep in mind: Often, people with cervicogenic dizziness will have a headache along with the dizziness. Or they might have a headache first, which then causes neck pain, which triggers cervicogenic dizziness. In many cases, when you alleviate the neck pain, the rest of the symptoms will resolve on their own. You can work with a physical therapist at Schertz Physical Therapy – Biomotion PT to help alleviate the neck pain that’s causing your cervicogenic dizziness, and recommend exercises and sleeping positions to help alleviate it, should it return.
Cervicogenic Dizziness Diagnosis
Diagnosis of cervicogenic dizziness usually occurs after the elimination of other causes of vertigo. This would include conditions such as vestibular neuritis, benign positional vertigo, psychogenic vertigo, and Meniere’s disease.
An assessment may include:
- A range of motion assessment
- A postural control assessment
- A neurological assessment
- A sensorimotor function test, including eye movement and balance
Contact a physical therapist at Schertz Physical Therapy – Biomotion PT to perform a full diagnostic assessment and to recommend the best cervicogenic dizziness treatment option for you!
Cervicogenic Dizziness Treatment
Cervicogenic dizziness is a debilitating condition. Fortunately, physical therapy can help! Once the exact cause of the condition is determined, physical rehabilitation can help to increase the range of motion in your neck and spine and alleviate many of your symptoms.
Here at Biomotion, we will work with you to regain the range of motion in your neck and spine. Gentle mobilization, posture training, and coaching will help alleviate symptoms of your cervicogenic dizziness. And we’ll also help you train through several neck exercises to reinforce recovery.
Depending on the cause of your condition, your posture may need correction. You may also need eye exercises and rehabilitation exercises that involve movement. We might also use heat, ice, and gentle massage to help reduce the pain.
Get Cervicogenic Dizziness Treatment in Schertz Today!
If vertigo-like symptoms or dizziness that you think might be related to your neck pain, Schertz Physical Therapy – Biomotion PT can help. Schedule an appointment today to treat your dizziness symptoms!
