More often than not chiropractic can help treat dizziness known as vertigo. There are a few components that can causes vertigo. Vertigo is defined as a sensation of the room spinning and loss of balance. Many organs contribute to balance, and the key to treating vertigo is pin pointing the faulty organ.

1. Eyes
2. Inner Ear
3. Cerebellum

Let’s start with the eyes. Your balance can be affected if you close your eyes. Visual ques help us move around and keep our balance. Very rarely is vertigo caused by poor eye sight, but if it is contributing to your inability to balance consult with your optician. Yearly eye exams are also recommended.

Next lets talk about the inner ear, the most common cause of vertigo. Located in the inner are are three semi-circular canals, which have fluid in them. How the fluid sits in the canals tells the brain where you are in space, and helps you balance. When crystals build up in these canals the fluid is unable to give the correct messages of where you are in space. When your visual ques don’t match up with what your inner ear is telling the brain; the brain gets confused. This confusion is known as vertigo.

So how does a chiropractor treat vertigo caused by crystals in the inner ear?
There are specific chiropractic adjustments that are preformed on the upper neck and the ear itself that help decrease vertigo. Specific maneuvers are also used to move the crystals through the canal. A series of head movements and body positions help break up the crystals, and decrease vertigo.

Lastly, the cerebellum can be disturbed causing vertigo. Is very important to see a chiropractor to rule out cerebellum involvement. The cerebellum is part of the brain stem, and is the organ in the brain that receives information from the eyes, ears, ect. puts the information together, and tells you where you are in space. In rare circumstances the cerebellum may be pinched by your C1 vertebrae aka atlas. Your chiropractor will take an x-ray to rule out occiptilization and platybasia, which could pinch the brain stem and cause vertigo. Occipitilization is defined as the fusion of the C1 vertebra to the skull. Platybasia is defined as abnormal flattening of the base of the skull. When the base of your skull is flattened the brain stem, which is supposed to be protected by the skull, can be exposed. Adding to an already problematic exposed brain stem is the fusion of the first vertebra to the skull. The brain stem simply is not protected how it should be. The first vertebra was not designed to protect the spinal cord. It was designed to move the upper cervical spine into flexion and extension.

Treatment of vertigo with cerebellum involvement
Very specific and tested adjustments will be administered to your upper cervical vertebrae. Symptoms usually decrease right away.

A note from spinal specialist/chiropractor Dr. Ally Bergh, “I have clinically treated patients with vertigo, and ear pain associated with cerebellum involvement (occipitilization and platybasia). It was only a matter of weeks and the symptoms and vertigo were drastically decreased.”