Dizziness

Dizziness is a common symptom resulting from a variety of medical conditions. An emerging area of physical therapy practice is the management of patients with cervicogenic dizziness. Patients with cervicogenic dizziness typically describe a vague sense of impaired orientation or disequilibrium that is exacerbated by neck pain. There is frequently a past medical history of cervical spine trauma, such as a whiplash associated disorder, and the physical examination often reveals orthopedic problems in the upper cervical spine causing mechanical compression of the vertebral artery network, irritation of the cervical sympathetic nervous system, and/or impaired upper cervical spine proprioception. In the absence of normal sensory integration, imbalance and dizziness often occur . Effective clinical management of dizziness is an integral component of improving balance. Dizziness is a nonspecific symptomatic description resulting from numerous pathologies including orthopedic impairments affecting the cervical spine and, in such cases, is referred to as “cervicogenic dizziness. Cervicogenic dizziness has been defined as “a non-specific sensation of altered orientation in space and disequilibrium originating from abnormal afferent activity from the neck” . Physical therapy interventions for CGD include orthopedic and vestibular rehabilitation strategies Amer Al-Saif, Physical Therapy Examination for Patients with Cervicogenic Dizziness

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Last date updated on September, 2024