Your Spine and Connective Tissue
The body is made up organs and tissue, and what holds the spine in place is a type of tissue called connective tissue. Accidents and injuries will lead to a tearing loose of connective tissue. When that connective tissue tears lose, it causes the spine to break down and fall into a locked position.
These accidents and injuries frequently affect the upper neck the most. This is because the relationship between the head and the neck is very delicate. The upper neck joints are extremely mobile which allows us to move our head around. But all that mobility leads to vulnerability as well.
When those top two vertebrae in the upper cervical spine become misaligned, the weight of a person’s skull and their brain causes the head to fall out of alignment with the body. That misalignment causes further damage to the body, including the misalignment of the eyes and the ear.
Your Body’s Righting Reflex
When the weight of the head is shifted slightly from center causing a head tilt. The brain is programmed to initiate what is called the righting reflex, which is a reflex of the body that keeps a person’s eyes and the semicircular canals in their ears level with the horizon. With the head now slightly tilted due to the injury the shoulders, hips, and the rest of your body will need to compensate for that imbalance.
A Case Study on Vertigo
So, what does this look like? Well, let’s consider the story of a 23 year old woman who sought the care of an upper cervical chiropractor five months after a fall the resulted in a concussion. She began her care showing symptoms of vertigo and headaches consistent with Post-Concussion Syndrome.
Before her injury, she had already experienced longstanding headaches, but they were exacerbated by the concussion. Though, her positional vertigo was a new occurrence. A thorough evaluation determined that her body was severely imbalanced and upper cervical x-rays revealed the imbalance was the result of a misalignment to the top two vertebrae in her spine.
After only her first adjustment from an upper cervical chiropractor, her headaches and vertigo completely disappeared, and a post X-ray evaluation showed significant improvement in the alignment of her head and neck. She was also examined the next day and there was a significant decrease in the muscle spasms in the neck and her legs were balanced. Restoring the head and neck to the normal alignment is frequently the key when it comes to long-standing health problems including migraines, vertigo, dizziness and other conditions.
