Dizziness/Imbalance

Dizziness & Vertigo

Our clinic offers over 19+ years of experience treating a vast array of dizziness/imbalance disorders.  One common cause of dizziness called cervicogenic dizziness is related to neck disorders.  This form of dizziness/imbalance is due to malfunctioning nerve receptors called mechanoreceptors that are embedded in the muscles and joints at the top of the neck.  Neck pain or tightness at the base of the head causes a disruption of proprioception or sense of where your head is located in space.  Proprioception is a third of our entire balance system along with the function of the organs of our inner ear and our sense of vision.  Disruption of this subsystem can lead to dizziness, imbalance, or disequilibrium.

Cervicogenic dizziness must be distinguished from other types of dizziness and to date there is not a standard test.

How to recognize patients with cervicogenic dizziness.

1. Lack of reasonable alternative: no obvious brain or ear disease, no loss or change of hearing at the onset of dizziness.
2. Possible abnormal MRI of cervical spine.
3. Patient must have symptoms of imbalance, unsteadiness, or disequilibrium.
4. They must have neck symptoms: neck pain, stiffness, and or HA.
   1. Patient will display dizziness symptoms associated with cervical motions. The most common direction is cervical spine extension followed by rotation.  According to Susan Reid study 60% of her patients had dizziness with extension.
   2. Did the onset of the dizziness occur after an injury to the neck such as whiplash.
   3. Duration of dizziness also helps in our differential diagnosis. Symptoms of cervicogenic dizziness can last for days or weeks.  BPPV is often brief and can last 30sec or minutes but rarely produce a constant sense of dizziness.

For more information of cervicogenic dizziness check out the video below!

Another common disorder that causes vertigo is called BPPV or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.  This disorder is caused by small particles of calcium carbonate (otoconia) becoming dislodged from the inner ear and migrating into the canals of the ear.  This causes a false sense of movement when movement is not actually occurring and results in vertigo.  This type of vertigo can be treated by a physiotherapist that specializes in vestibular disorders.  Most patients will report resolution of vertigo in one to three visits after receiving treatment.

Do you have BPPV?

Common complaints associated with BPPV include:

We offer a specialized treatment programs that are clinically proven to decrease vertigo, dizziness and improve balance.

Call today for a FREE dizziness screen to find out if our program is right for you.

Cervicogenic Dizziness and BPPV information on Youtube