Question
I had a severe case of vertigo. Went to the emergency room and they thought it was a migraine. A day prior I had gone to the doctor because i felt woozy like I was in a boat at sea and had been having headaches. She thought that it was a  sinus infection and gave me cipro. That very night is when the vertigo got so bad I started to get scared. I felt an intense burning throughout my body as well. I felt like i was on a merry go round and nausea. I couldnt focus on anything and walked hunched over. i told the emergency room about being told i had a sinus infection and he didnt think that i had one. He thought it might be a migraine. They gave me a couple of shots one for nausea and one for migraine. I went home and was dehabilitated for two days with such severe vertigo I couldnt do anything but get out of bed to go to the bathroom and then get back into bed. I wanted to die. Then I had severe neck pain, I have had dizziness off and on since the attack but nothing quite as severe as that episode. Went to physical therapy and symptoms got worse, Pain and tingling in face, pain down arm, neck pain right at the base of my head with intense pressure and the base of my head and neck and top of my head and behind my eyes. The physical therapist did traction of the neck the first three visits. First one felt good , the second one caused pain in between shoulder blades, the third one made the pressure sensation alot worse to the point they had me go in for an mri. I had an mri done and they said I had a convex left curvature of the cervical spine and some deterioration in c4-5 and c6-7. My mom was diagnosed with spondalosis and my dad has diabetes. I have also been having pain with swallowing on the left side for two weeks. I have lesions on the top of my right shoulder in between the base of my neck and shoulder. I have been experiencing left chest pain and pain in my hands that feels like electrical shocks. I also get vibration sensations in my legs and pelvic area, lips, and tip of my nose. My concern is can all of this be caused by the neck issues shown in my mri or is there something else going on? Does it cause the pain with swallowing? Would an mri show throat cancer? I am concerned about going back to physical therapy because of what I have experienced before. Your thoughts?

thanks so much!

Answer
Hello, Karl.

Two words:  cervicogenic dizziness

"Cervicogenic" means "coming from the neck."
"dizziness" -- well ...

Reflexive connections exist between the muscles of the neck, the nerves that control eye movements (3d cranial/oculomotor) and the balance centers of the inner ears.

Neck muscles in contraction cause cervicogenic dizziness -- and headaches, nerve impingements (tingling and mysterious pains), abnormal neck curvature and difficulty swallowing.

See somatics.com/conditions.htm and the articles on traction, headaches and whiplash injuries at somatics.com/page4b.htm.  The articles will tell you much and give you a way out.

Show the articles to your doctor, along with this reply.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold