Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By Dr. Drew Hall
Vertigo is the second most common condition why patients visit a doctor. Most who suffer, end up at their primary care physician, are told it’s their inner ear and if it persists are referred out to a HEENT (head ears eyes throat) doctor. The patient is usually run through a battery of tests and diagnosed with BPPV, Meniere’s disease, vestibular labyrinthitis, or cervicogenic vertigo. The mainstream health system is great at giving you a diagnosis, but rarely do they ask the question, WHAT IS THE CAUSE? In this article we will discuss a little-known procedure called Blair upper cervical technique. Blair upper cervical is a niche chiropractic technique that focuses its attention on the top two bones in the spine and their relationship to the brainstem and central nervous system. The procedure is precise, gentle, effective, and uses no twisting, popping, or pulling during the correction.
How is vertigo related to the neck?
The upper cervical spine is the most unstable junction of the spine. A bowling ball (your head) rests on a two-ounce bone (the atlas) and houses the most vital structure in the body, the brainstem. The brainstem is the part of the nervous system that controls and coordinates most body function you are not consciously controlling; heart function, respiratory function, postural muscle tone control, thermo-regulation (body temperature) and the vestibular nucleus, the bodies balance center.
Trauma in the past such as car accidents, slip and falls, and blunt trauma can cause the top bone in the neck to misalign off the floor of the skull. This misalignment can set the stage for a host of chronic health problems including vertigo. Misalignments at the floor of the skull interfere with brainstem function and can affect any part of the body.
Often people who suffer with vertigo notice that certain head positions or movements trigger their vertigo. Also lying on one side versus the other may set off their symptoms. These are clues that the vertigo is coming from a misaligned neck!
When a neck joint is misaligned from its normal position, millions of nerve endings on the joint surface can send “bad” information back into the central nervous system causing disturbances within the balance system of the body. Furthermore, certain head positions can fire off these pathways and commonly are experienced by vertigo sufferers. The solution is to identify which joint has misaligned and precisely correct it to restore normal joint motion and nervous system function!
How precision CBCT imaging allows the doctor to locate your exact misalignment pattern
In order to correct an upper cervical misalignment, it must first be viewed. In our office we take 3-d cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) that allows the doctor to view the joint misalignment. Each person has unique joint anatomy and direction of misalignment. By using precision imaging our doctors can then direct a precise gentle force into the joint to restore normal motion and function. Once corrected the body will go through postural changes and normal physiology follows – health!
Follow up care
The purpose of the correction is to restore normal joint motion and allow the central nervous system to improve function. Follow up visits are used to monitor the upper cervical spine . We want to know is the correction “holding” in its normal position or has it misaligned again to its bad position. The goal of blair upper cervical care is for the soft tissue around the misaligned joint to heal so the joint moves normal and the central nervous system has no interference.
COME TO SARASOTA UPPER CERVICAL AND GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF YOUR VERTIGO! WE REMOVE THE CAUSE AND YOUR BODY DOES THE HEALING!
Common symptoms that accompany vertigo
. Headaches
. TMJ
. Tinnitus
. Cognitive fog
. Ear pain
. Eustachian tube dysfunction
Schedule a no obligation FREE consultation in our office today!
Sarasota Upper Cervical Chiropractic
941.259.1891
sarasotauppercervical.com
