Dizziness is quite different then vertigo in that with dizziness one is dizzy, unsteady whereas with vertigo one is experiencing sensations of they or the world are spinning. Frequently with vertigo it will be set off with moving their head as in turning one’s head or with lying down. Either dizziness or vertigo can be anywhere from mild to severe and vertigo can also have a component of nausea associated with it.
There are numerous reasons one can have symptoms of dizziness, vertigo or balance problems and the remedies can be as easy as giving it some time to getting cranial surgery to stop the vertigo.

Among the causes of dizziness, vertigo and balance issues we have the following partial list:

Metabolic issues particularly problems with blood sugar. This is a whole body of discussion onto itself but evaluating it requires a good consultation as to one’s diet, potential food sensitivities and overall state of health including what medications one is taking and what body systems are underperforming. A good lab analysis can be very helpful to check on this aspect of one’s health.

Issues with vertebrae in the neck in particular being restricted / misaligned / fixated, which in chiropractic language is called subluxated, causing an interference with the flow of communication from the neck to various regions of the brain that those nerves travel and communicate with such as the vestibular system, the brainstem and cerebellum to name some primary areas. Additionally the soft tissue of the neck can be involved such as the tension in the muscles and ligaments that support the region. That is why a massage can potentially help or potentially set off problems. Additionally because all regions of the spine talk to each other and indeed all areas of the body talk to each other on a continuous basis, problems with one’s low back/pelvis alignment can influence the reactions / function of the neck and be a source of part of the problem. So can the TMJ (jaw joint). In that regard even the feet need to be checked as dysfunctional patterns from there can and do influence other regions up higher.

A primary area of involvement is the vestibular system wherein there are canals that are designed to send signals whenever you turn your head in any direction. Sometimes some of the crystals in the canals can be stuck or otherwise not be flowing properly and thereby send aberrant signals to associated balance regions setting off problems with vertigo and balance. A simple and effective treatment for this condition – benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, BPPV – is called the Epley maneuver and checking on YouTube can give one some good information on potentially resetting the proper flow of these crystals in the canals even on your own.

From a functional neurological perspective, we look at a mismatch of information coming into the brain. For example, the inner ear is sending too much or too little information to the brain centers it links to. The eyes and the neck and the inner ear can have a miscommunication issue that needs to be reset. In my practice I look carefully at past trauma that occured especially head trauma such as a concussion as these often are one of the sources of setting off dysfunctional brain communication problems. Past auto accidents and sport injuries can be part of what is now setting off a problem in that over time the accumulated stress that the body and brain have to deal with is now in excess of the body’s ability to be able to properly balance it all and a weak link goes, like your balance centers. Therefore a good history into past trauma, fractures, sport injuries, falls etc is quite important to help identify where some of the sources of neurologic dysfunction might be coming from.