Dizziness

Dizziness is a non-specific term used to describe a sensation of altered orientation in space (its clinical term is “Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo“)

The actual medical term has a more complex definition; in fact, it is divided into several types and subtypes, i.e. vertigo, disequilibrium, pre syncope, light-headedness. A brief explanation will consist of the ability of the brain to sense the direction and speed of head movements, and positions, maintaining balance by the interactions between various intricate systems in the body, such as the visual and skeletal systems.

The type of head-spinning with which chiropractors are mostly confronted is known as cervicogenic dizziness, which is common after neck injuries. As a result of trauma to the neck, there is a shift in the proprioceptive impulses coming from the muscles, joints and tendons in the neck and going to the brain. This disturbance is, for example, typical of whiplash injuries and a classical presentation would be the presence of the dizziness when rotating the head either sides.

Cervicogenic vertigo has been recognized since the mid- 50’s and has been studied extensively since.

Chiropractic is successful in treating cases of dizziness with mobilization of the cervical joints, deep tissue work of the neck muscles and postural advice.