THE specific BLOG

Neck Pain & Dizziness | How They’re Related

I’ll have people come in who can’t move their head very well.

This can be due to neck pain.

But it can also be due to fear….

Fear that if they move their head they will become super dizzy and not be able to recover for some time.

This is a very real fear for a lot of people. Oftentimes when people come in with this complaint they will usually have neck pain as well.

It may seem odd but these two things are without a doubt related.

Our head connects to our neck so it only makes sense. What’s tricky is how do we get things fixed so you don’t have neck pain or dizziness.

Well we need to start out with the cause. Many people will say that things started randomly and some people contribute their neck pain and dizziness to something like a car accident or sudden whiplash.

Regardless of what you think may have caused the issue there is usually a similar underlying issue going on. This is usually caused by the nervous system. I know the nervous system is a really popular thing to talk about nowadays but it’s what we have been working with for years and years.

Our goal is to ensure that people have a healthy functioning and balanced nervous system.

This allows our bodies to adapt to stress the best way possible. The reason this is important is because our nervous system is usually the reason for neck pain and dizziness. Our nervous systems are usually stuck in a state of overdrive when we are experiencing these things. Even if you didn’t have some sort of whiplash injury I bet your neck pain and dizziness started or gets worse when you’re experiencing high stress things.

This is because the nervous system can’t regulate all of these things going on at the same time. It’s already stuck in this overdrive state and when we add extra stress on top of what we already have going on internally, a response can be things like neck pain and dizziness.

Let’s break this down a little bit.

The nervous system is comprised of our brain, brainstem, spinal cord, and all of the nerves that travel throughout our body. It’s basically our body’s internal highway of communication! It’s how our brain communicates with the rest of the body. The autonomic nervous system is what controls all of the vital functions in the body. It’s also what’s broken down into our parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system…or our resting, digesting, thrival nervous system, and our fight, flight, freeze, survival nervous system.

This is why when we do experience excess stress in our lives we will usually start to experience certain physical symptoms. This autonomic nervous system is already in fight or flight mode and the excess stress causes things to go overboard and the warning sign that is triggered can be things like neck pain and dizziness.

At the same time the fuse box to our nervous system is the brainstem. The brainstem exits through the bottom of the skull and dips into the space between the first and second vertebra of our neck, C1 and C2. What’s interesting is these vertebrae are responsible for a lot of the movement we have in our necks. So if we are having pain when we move our head and neck or we have stiffness going on it 100% can be related to these top 2 bones in our neck.

Also with the brainstem residing in this area vertigo can also stem from a problem going on in this area. Vertigo has been linked to certain cranial nerves, one being the Vestibulocochlear Nerve. This nerve helps regulate our spatial awareness. When we are stuck in a fight of flight mode this nerve can’t work how it’s designed to work. The cerebellum can also contribute to dizziness which is located at the lower back portion of the brain, right above the brainstem. So if we have a problem going on with the top 2 bones in the neck it not only can cause us to have neck pain but also cause dizziness!

How We Fix This

At The Specific Chiropractic Center Naples our entire goal is nervous system restoration through alignment and proper movement of the top bones in the neck. This has a direct impact on neck pain and dizziness.

If you’re someone who has struggled with neck pain and dizziness I should mention that getting relief and resolution to those things can take time. Symptoms are usually the last sign that something is wrong inside the body. Symptoms are our body’s version of an actual problem after the check engine light comes on.

We usually see changes with symptoms of neck pain and dizziness fairly early on during care. What people will notice is that there will be a decrease in the symptoms they experience and that when they do experience neck pain and dizziness they won’t last as long. As we progress with care we will start to see these symptoms start to diminish more and more until people no longer experience them on a consistent basis. Think about this care being similar to antibiotics. When you start taking them you notice some differences, then your symptoms of being sick really start to fade, but your doctor still wants you to take the full scheduled amount so they can make sure that whatever you’re dealing with is gone for good.

Care here looks somewhat similar as our goal is nervous system restoration. Symptoms may disappear sometimes pretty quickly but during the back end of care we are really solidifying long lasting results.

Our clients who struggle with neck pain and dizziness are always amazed how something so simple as a chiropractic adjustment to the upper neck can fix their problems. If you’re someone who struggles with neck pain and dizziness give us a call, I would love to help you get out of pain and regain control of your life from the dizziness you’ve been experiencing!