Cervical Dizziness Diagnosis & Management with Physical Therapy

03/16/2026

Using the Misery Scale can help you guide your patients on VR treatments. ⁠
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Those with neck pain are more susceptible to motion sickness.⁠
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03/13/2026

Can the internal jugular vein cause vertigo?

Short answer, yes!

Muscular compression of the internal jugular vein can occur and it is by the sternocleidomastoid and omohyoid muscles. This is a complex fascial region that with restrictions, can lead to symptoms.

You can't necessary diagnose this on your own. You need imaging.

But, just learn how to treat the neck properly!

This can then help the overall structure and function of the neck.

03/10/2026

Bridging Traditional Chinese Medicine & Western Perspectives.

These squares discuss some differences between the philosophies and thought processes of treating vertigo and dizziness of cervical origin.

Enjoy!

03/08/2026

Dizziness is one of the most common reasons for consultation in adult patients!⁠
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It is an umbrella term used to describe various sensations, including vertigo, disequilibrium, lightheadedness, or presyncope.⁠
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Cervicogenic dizziness is a subtype of these 4 categories⁠
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03/06/2026

Does Manual Therapy help with Dizziness? New research.

We continue to show in systematic reviews that is does, including a new one in 2025 showing only high quality randomized control trials (above or equal to 7 out of PEDro score).

It helps with reduced dizziness and increased cervical range of motion.

These are short term --- anything manual is short term.

Heck, drinking water and eating lunch is short term. Duh.

In order to get more long term results, we need to figure out the why.

More improvement in lordotic curve can be a reason. More symmetry in the atlas moving. More stability in the upper cervical spine and less reliance on superficial muscles to control the head.

All of these can be the why.

But, learn manual therapy too. People need short term relief first.

03/06/2026

Starting with the end in mind -

In chess education, beginners are often taught the endgame first. By simplifying the board and showing what checkmate looks like, players gain clarity on what earlier moves are meant to accomplish.

03/03/2026

Can chiropractic care help older adults with neck pain and dizziness?

Research by Kendall et al 2025 discusses this aspect and you can learn more on the details in the square.

Enjoy!

02/27/2026

Manual therapy has been shown to reduce symptoms in people with cervicogenic dizziness.

But, WHY does it work?

We do know that the upper cervical spine plays a factor.

This region contains a high density of mechanoreceptors, which are key for
- proprioception
- movement perception
- sensory feedback to the brain

Manual therapy applied to the upper cervical spine can create relief.

In many cases though, a client needs more. We need to figure out why the upper cervical spine is dysfunctional.

02/24/2026

Some more research on how recurrent BPPV can be affected by the neck.

This one is talking about blood flow.

Improve the HEALTH of the upper neck and even lower neck with your dizzy patients!

02/20/2026

How can forward head posture eventually cause dizziness?

When the head shifts forward, it places excessive stress on the upper cervical spine.

This can cause tightness and overactivity in the suboccipital muscles.

Ultimately, these changes can disrupt the way your body senses movement and position. The altered input from the neck gets mismatched with signals from the vestibular and visual systems.

This results in a very confusing sensory picture for your body that can trigger dizziness.

02/17/2026

Nice image of the C0-3 segments.

Thanks to the authors providing us with these images to share with patients.

Li, R., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y. et al. The effect of suboccipital muscle dysfunction on the biomechanics of the upper cervical spine: a study based on finite element analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 25, 400 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-024-07401-5

02/16/2026

Connection between the vagus nerve and neck structure.

Nice picture from Hauser et al 2025.