Question
"Hello,   When I was eleven years old fell on my head not once, but twice while practicing gymnastics. Since that point I have had chronic pain in my neck. Throughout my teenage years I was able to maintain it, but in the past few years it has gotten quite worse. I am now 28 and the pain is worse than ever. I have found that I am never fully NOT in pain; I only have periods of time where experience LESS neck pain. I occasionally am required to sit motionless and upright with a neck brace on, to alleviate the pain.   In addition, in the past few years, I've found it impossible to be a passenger in a moving vehicle unless I am the driver. If I am a passenger, even for a few minutes, I get terrible headaches and slight vertigo which effectively incapacitates me for hours to a full day (this includes transportation by trains, boats and aircraft). Even when I do drive myself around, there is only so much I can withstand -- even a couple of hours can be quite taxing.    I am also subject to random spells of vertigo, which can last for several hours to days; sleeping upright seems to help, and sometimes lying on the edge of my bed with my head tilted back and to the right -- followed by rotating to the left -- alleviates the dizziness.    I've seen a couple of specialists over the last couple of years; the first one said that the inability for me to be a passenger in a vehicle is due to damage to my neck stabilizers -- that I can't compensate for the movement unless I anticipate it myself (hence being able to drive but not be driven). He also said that there was nothing they could do... I had an MRI taken last year, and results were inconclusive; the specialist could not see anything from the imaging. I am exhausted and frustrated looking for answers, and the constant ordeal is draining my sanity. Any help or insight would absolutely fantastic...   Thank you very much Simone"

Answer
Hi Simone and thanks for writing,

I would suggest you go see an inner ear specialist about your vertigo symptoms - you may find a simple early morning 5 minute exercise may resolve a lot of your issues.

You should also see a good Chiropractor to assess your spinal alignment - but be careful and only let those who practice gentle massage therapies and avoid those who practice crack and smack therapy.

Wishing you all the best,
Margot