Feeling dizzy, unsteady, or like the world is spinning around you can be an incredibly unsettling experience. If you’ve ever suffered from vertigo, you know how disruptive it can be to your daily life. Simple tasks like walking, driving, or even standing up from a chair can suddenly become difficult and disorienting.
While vertigo has a variety of causes, many people don’t realize that chiropractic care can offer an effective and natural way to find relief. If you’re looking for alternatives to medications or invasive treatments, a skilled Draper chiropractor may be able to help you manage your symptoms and regain your balance—literally and figuratively.
What Is Vertigo?
Vertigo is not a condition in itself but a symptom that typically results from an issue in the inner ear or the brain. It creates the sensation that you or your surroundings are spinning or moving, even when you’re completely still. Some people describe it as dizziness, but true vertigo involves a false sense of motion.
Common symptoms of vertigo include:
- Spinning sensation
- Loss of balance
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sweating
- Headaches or neck stiffness
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
Vertigo can be short-lived or chronic, mild or severe, and it can come on suddenly or gradually over time.
What Causes Vertigo?
Vertigo can have several underlying causes, including:
- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV): This occurs when tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear become dislodged and disrupt your body’s balance signals.
- Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis: Infections or inflammation in the inner ear can impact balance and hearing.
- Meniere’s disease: A disorder that causes fluid buildup in the inner ear.
- Head or neck trauma: Injuries can affect your vestibular system or the nerves responsible for balance.
- Cervicogenic vertigo: Dizziness caused by dysfunction in the neck, often linked to poor posture or spinal misalignment.
This last cause—cervicogenic vertigo—is where chiropractic care can be particularly helpful.
How Can Chiropractic Care Help?
Chiropractors are experts in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, which play a key role in how your body maintains balance. When the upper cervical spine (neck area) is misaligned or restricted, it can affect the signals sent to your brain about your body’s position in space—contributing to feelings of dizziness and imbalance.
A chiropractor may use gentle spinal adjustments to:
- Restore proper alignment in the cervical spine
- Reduce tension in the neck muscles
- Improve nervous system communication between the brain and body
- Relieve pressure on nerves that affect balance
In cases like cervicogenic vertigo, chiropractic adjustments can significantly reduce or even eliminate symptoms. Your treatment plan may also include posture correction, soft tissue therapy, or exercises to strengthen balance and coordination.
Specific Techniques for Vertigo Relief
Some chiropractors are also trained in specific techniques that are especially helpful for vertigo, including:
- Epley Maneuver: A repositioning technique designed to move dislodged crystals in the inner ear back to their proper place in cases of BPPV.
- Cervical spine adjustments: Targeted manipulations that restore proper alignment and improve neck function.
- Vestibular rehabilitation exercises: Gentle movements designed to retrain the brain and reduce sensitivity to motion.
A Draper chiropractor can assess your symptoms, identify the root cause, and choose the most effective technique for your specific condition.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Vertigo
Many patients who turn to chiropractic care for vertigo experience a wide range of benefits, such as:
- Reduced dizziness and disorientation
- Improved balance and coordination
- Decreased neck pain and stiffness
- Fewer headaches and tension-related symptoms
- Improved overall nervous system function
Because chiropractic care is non-invasive and drug-free, it’s often a preferred option for those who want to avoid medications or are looking for more natural solutions.
What to Expect at Your Appointment
During your first visit, your chiropractor will conduct a comprehensive evaluation, which may include a physical exam, review of your medical history, and assessment of your posture, spinal alignment, and balance function. From there, they’ll create a tailored treatment plan designed to target the root cause of your vertigo.
You may feel relief after just one or two visits, though long-term or chronic cases may require several sessions to achieve lasting results.
When to Consider Chiropractic Care
If you’ve been dealing with vertigo and haven’t found a long-term solution through traditional approaches, chiropractic care is worth exploring. It’s particularly effective if your symptoms seem to coincide with neck pain, stiffness, or poor posture.
A knowledgeable Draper chiropractor can help you understand what’s triggering your symptoms and guide you toward a treatment plan that promotes healing, balance, and a better quality of life.
Final Thoughts
Vertigo can be debilitating, but you don’t have to live with constant dizziness and imbalance. Chiropractic care offers a safe, natural, and effective way to address the root causes of vertigo and restore your body’s sense of stability.
If you’re ready to take control of your symptoms and get back to feeling steady and confident, consider visiting a Draper chiropractor to explore your treatment options and start your journey to lasting relief.
