Research proves physio help for cervical spine dizziness

Wednesday 18 May 2005

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have found that a physiotherapy procedure can provide effective treatment for people suffering from dizziness caused by neck movements, positions, pain or stiffness.

Sue Reid, a postgraduate student under the supervision of Associate Professor Darren Rivett and Dr Robin Callister from the Faculty of Health, says the results show for the first time that physiotherapy can be effective in relieving or eliminating the symptoms of cervical dizziness.

"Cervical dizziness is an unsteadiness or poor balance that originates from a problem in the neck region and is usually caused by changes in the position of the neck," says Sue.

Dizziness may contribute to additional problems such as anxiety, depression, employment difficulties, premature retirement, fear of public places, inability to drive or travel and difficulties in performing normal daily activities.

"There are several causes of dizziness which involve the inner ear, or central nervous and cardiovascular systems that can be treated medically."

"However some people experience dizziness because of a disorder in their neck, specifically the joints and muscles of the upper cervical spine. Until now, no treatment has been demonstrated to effectively alleviate the symptoms of cervical dizziness and restore function."

"We used a physiotherapy procedure involving a combination of gentle joint movement and neck exercises which is used in clinical practice but for which there was no objective evidence to justify its use."

"We found that this physiotherapy procedure had an immediate effect, clinically and statistically significant, in reducing dizziness, neck pain and disability caused by the cervical dizziness."

Dizziness is a very common presenting symptom in clinical practice, so these results provide evidence for a therapy that can be recommended for patients with cervical dizziness for whom no alternative therapy currently exists.

"These results not only provide first time evidence of the benefits of this treatment, but hope for patients suffering from this disabling condition," says Sue.

For media interviews with Sue Reid, contact Kate Reid, University of Newcastle Media Unit, on (02) 4921 5351 or 0438 745 098.