Neck Pain and Dizziness

Everyone feels dizzy sometime or the other for different reasons, and in many ordinary situations. It is a normal feeling which you get when your brain starts receiving conflicting messages from your inner ears or from your eyes. Pain in the neck is a common health condition that may occur due to different disorders/diseases of the neck tissues, like degenerative disc disease, neck strain or sprain, neck injury, a herniated disc, a pinched nerve, etc. Numbness, tingling, tenderness, dizziness, lightheadedness, severe pain, etc., are some common symptoms of neck pain. Therefore, considering these symptoms, we can say that neck problems and dizziness are related. However, this was just a generic overview of pain in neck and dizziness. Here are some actual reasons that cause neck pain and dizzy spells in a person.

Causes for Severe Neck Pain and Dizziness

Cervical Vertigo: Cervical vertigo is one of the major cause for neck pain and dizziness, which usually gets provoked by a particular neck posture, irrespective of the orientation of the head with respect to the gravity, like turning of the head about the vertical axis while sitting upright. Vascular compression (compression of vertebral arteries in the neck by the vertebrae or other structures) and abnormal sensory input from the neck proprioceptors are two most common causes for cervical vertigo.

Neck Arthritis: Arteries as we know carry blood to the posterior part of the brain, actually transport the blood in the vertebrae of the cervical spine. If a patient has severe neck arthritis along with osteophytes formation (bone appendages due to arthritis), these osteophytes can encroach on the space occupied by the blood vessels. This affects the blood supply to the posterior part of the brain and may result in severe neck pain and dizziness, along with a feeling of vertigo.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: It is a specific inner disorder that may occur due to small crystals floating in the fluid in the inner ear falling onto one of our balance sections. The patient may experience mild neck pain and short spells of dizziness that may begin suddenly and lasts for few seconds, especially when the patient is looking up at the sky or lying down in the bed. The disorder may also be caused due to a sudden blow to the head or from an age related condition. However, this condition is harmless and may clear up without treatment in few weeks. Read more on inner ear dizziness.

Headaches: Some people, when they experience headaches, tend to hold their heads or necks still, thinking that moving them around makes them dizzy. However, holding the head or neck still for a long period of time can cause tension in the neck muscles, which then begin to ache. The neck pain may even reach up to the head and cause dizziness. Read more on constant headaches and neck pain.

Neck or Whiplash Injuries: Neck or whiplash injuries or neck manipulations resulting from an accident or even during physiotherapy performed by some health professional can cause dizziness especially if you have an inner ear upset. However, this neck pain and dizziness is not severe but may continue for a long time.

Stress: Stress related activities like lifting heavy objects on the shoulders for prolonged periods, dragging heavy objects, sitting on the computer for long duration of hours, or sitting in an unhealthy fashion can also cause neck pain and dizziness in most of the people.

The treatment for neck pain and dizziness mainly involves treatment for neck problems. Several studies reveals that nearly 75% patients have shown improvement of symptoms with conservative treatment of neck, which includes medications, physical therapy, gentle mobilization, exercise, instruction in correct posture and use of the neck.