Dizziness (med. Vertigo) caused by the cervical spine is also called cervicogenic (coming from the cervical spine) dizziness or cervical vertigo. The dizziness symptoms often occur after acceleration trauma or another type of accident that affects the cervical spine.
There are different types of vertigo. Cervical vertigo is usually not perceived as rotational vertigo, but often as swaying vertigo that is accompanied by gait insecurity. A disturbed sense of position in the room can also be triggered by the vertigo.
The dizziness symptoms increase during movements or after prolonged forced posture and often pain in the neck area occurs in parallel. The mobility of the neck and head is often restricted and the muscles of the cervical spine and the shoulder-neck area are painfully tense. The dizziness can last for a few minutes, but can also last for several hours.
Untypical for dizziness originating in the cervical spine are other complaints such as hearing or vision problems. Dizziness due to a disorder of the cervical spine is a very common cause of vertigo in Germany, yet it is often not recognized. If the diagnosis is correct, cervicogenic vertigo can be treated well and can regress completely if it is treated consistently.
Symptoms
Vertigo can manifest itself in many different ways and is often a warning signal from the brain. In general, affected people feel uncomfortable, insecure and dizzy.
- Rotational vertigo: You have the feeling that something is spinning inside you or that the surroundings are circling around you.
- Swaying: One believes to sway or the environment seems to move, similar to a ship.
- Lift dizziness: One has the feeling of being pulled up or down, similar to an elevator
- Fall tendency: the feeling of tipping forward or backward
- Dizziness and lightheadedness: Permanent dizziness, e.g. spinning dizziness
For our orientation in space (where is right/left, up/down) and our associated movements, humans have a complex regulatory mechanism in the brain that brings together information from various sensory organs and calculates it.
The signal receivers, so-called receptors, are not only located in our organ of equilibrium in the inner ear, but are distributed throughout the entire body. Above all, there are a particularly large number of important receptors in our muscles and connective tissue, which transmit signals to the brain about our posture and position in space. Especially many of these receptors are located in the short neck muscles, among other places.
If tension occurs in these areas, information is passed on to the brain that does not correspond to other information provided by the receptors in the eyes and feet, for example. This misinformation is then absorbed by the brain and confusion results. The consequence is a disturbance of orientation and movement coordination with dizziness.
