Vertigo is becoming a more common problem for office visits to primary doctors, ear, nose and throat specialists, neurologists and physical therapists. Vertigo is a symptom that causes a person to feel like they are moving when they really are not. Sometimes a person with vertigo can feel like the walls and the floor are moving, resulting in associated symptoms of nausea, vomiting, sweating or walking difficulties. Activities of daily living can become difficult and at times, intimidating.
When someone says they have vertigo, this is a description of a symptom that may be associated with different conditions such as Meniere’s disease, infection, multiple sclerosis, migraine, head trauma, brain tumor and others. However, in a majority of the cases, a structural shift of the head and neck position known as atlas displacement complex can be a contributor to vertigo symptoms. In a neurological sense, the neck position tells the brain where the body is in space. With the neck off-center, the body’s sensory systems will not have the right information, leading to a sense of imbalance.
The top of the neck, where the atlas bone cradles the head, houses more sensory receptors than the rest of the body, and injuries to this area such whiplash and concussion will disturb the balance of the sensory receptors. Typically, a person with vertigo symptoms have had injuries to the upper neck or head. By fixing this misalignment of the upper neck, the major contributor to vertigo can be corrected.
Vertigo
There’s no question if you have it when you have it.