If you are suffering from neck pain and dizziness you are not alone.  Dizziness accounts for 7% of doctor visits for 45.  It is also the leading reason to see a doctor if you are over 65.

Most people with dizziness are looking for a straightforward diagnosis.  However,  those who present to the emergency department only receive a diagnosis in 49% of cases.  Physical therapists are movement experts who help people with vertigo and dizziness.  One particular form, cervicogenic dizziness, responds especially well to physical therapy.

Do You Suffer from Both Neck Pain and Dizziness?

Cervicogenic dizziness occurs as a result of pain originating from your neck (or cervical spine). This happens because of faulty signaling from your neck to your brain.  As a result, your brain cannot determine where your head is in space.  This causes the sensation of dizziness.

There is no simple way to test for this type of dizziness.  Instead, the diagnosis is made by excluding other causes of dizziness ranging from cardiovascular causes to metabolic causes, and inner ear causes.

How Physical Therapists Help Diagnosis the Problem

Physical therapists perform a 5-step examination process for people with dizziness.

• Part 1 includes listening to your history and determining if your symptoms are consistent with cervicogenic dizziness.
• Next, part 2 includes testing to see if you are appropriate for physical therapy.
• Part 3 includes testing your inner ear. Your inner ear, or vestibular system, consists of structures connecting with your brain to tell your head where it is in space.
• Finally, steps 4 and 5 involve testing your neck.

The neck examination includes testing your range of motion, the strength of your deep neck muscles, and a variety of special tests. These include tests for motor control, your neck’s awareness of position sense, and the mobility of each vertebra in your neck.  Oftentimes, an examination of one spinal vertebra (shown in the image below) will reproduce your pain and dizziness.  A treatment plan is developed based on the results of these tests.

Treatment of Neck Pain and Dizziness

Various research papers show manual physical therapy and exercise reduce neck pain and dizziness. The videos below illustrate 2 of these exercises.  Thankfully, research shows a year after physical therapy patients who complete these programs maintain their improvements.

See Your Physical Therapist for Help with Neck Pain and Dizziness

Is your dizziness coming from your neck?  There is a good chance it is.  Your doctor and physical therapist make this diagnosis by first ruling out other problems.

Successful treatment includes manual physical therapy and exercise.  Thankfully, when a proper diagnosis is made, this simple approach significantly reduces neck pain and dizziness.

If you are suffering from neck pain and dizziness, contact us today and schedule an initial evaluation with your physical therapist.