Vertigo, dizziness and balance
Spinning, unsteadiness, light-headedness when you turn your head, and balance that does not feel like yours.
What is vertigo?
Vertigo is the sensation that you or the room are moving when neither is. It has several possible sources: the balance organs of the inner ear (the most common, including the crystals that cause positional vertigo), the upper neck, whose joints and muscles feed the brain information about where the head is, and, less often, the nervous system itself. Dizziness and unsteadiness that start after a neck injury, or that come with neck pain and headaches, often point to the neck's part in it. It is one of the most common reasons people from Meridian and across the Treasure Valley come to see us.
Why does it keep coming back?
Because the causes are so different, the first job is to sort out which one you have. A careful history and exam, including how your neck moves and what your nerve scan shows, is how the doctors decide whether this is something chiropractic care can address or something that belongs with another provider.
How we look at it at Bonfire
The first visit is the same careful process whatever brought you in: a nerve scan with a chiropractic assistant, then your history, a thorough exam with the doctor, and X-rays the same day. Visit two is the report of findings, where you hear what was found and what care could look like, before your first adjustment.
What does care involve?
Where the upper neck is involved, care may include gentle, specific adjustments to the upper cervical spine, guidance on posture and screens, and corrective exercise. Some patients describe improvement in dizziness alongside care of the neck; experiences differ, and the doctors will tell you what your findings suggest. If the exam points to the inner ear or a medical cause, you will be referred.
Questions about vertigo
Is vertigo a chiropractic problem?
Sometimes. When dizziness is tied to the upper neck, chiropractic care is one reasonable approach. When it is coming from the inner ear or elsewhere, the doctors will say so and point you to the right provider.
When is dizziness an emergency?
Sudden dizziness with slurred speech, weakness, numbness, double vision, a severe headache or trouble walking needs urgent medical care, not a chiropractic visit.
Will you adjust my neck if I am dizzy?
Only after an exam, and only if the findings support it. The approach is gentle and specific, and it is matched to you.
This page is general education, not medical advice. Individual results vary. Talk with a qualified healthcare provider about your own situation, and never stop a prescribed medication without speaking to the doctor who prescribed it.