cervical vertigo and c1-c2 instability
 

There are plenty of evidence that in my case (and it seems many others here) concussion symptoms correlate with neck soreness and that fast twists in the neck or whiplashes cause major return of symptoms.

In fact in my case after my initial accident I did not have symptoms more than slight lightheadedness until I rotated three days later my neck around in quick movement ...because ... i can't really explain stupidity...

Before I embark on a path to seriously pursue all potential neck problems (I guess starting with MRI and going to specialized chirporactors in C1-C2) I wanted to see what you guys think/what has been your experience with this.

Examples of such discussions, where Drs claim that the symptoms originate from specific neck issues, include:

http://www.caringmedical.com/proloth...igo-treatment/
http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com.../cervical.html
http://www.drwindman.com/

To me this would make a lot of sense, and would explain all my symptoms with perhaps the exception of the alcohol-induced-dizziness...

Thanks

Interesting links, especially the one about cervical vertigo.

I tried to get a dopler ultrasound of vertebral blood flow but the tech refused to do a comparison of neck straight vs neck turned.

I doubt an MRI will make a difference because the radiologist would need to believe there can be a problem. Plus, MRI's are not precise enough.

Better to just find the upper cervical chiro and see what he/she finds.

As I have said many times before. The most important part will be your postural discipline, especially during rest and sleep so you do not undo any improvements made by the chiro.

Thanks as always.

you know of a link/resources on how to achieve the safest posture while sleeping/working? I have avery hard time sleeping on my back. I purchased a pillow from these guys last year: http://www.omegaposture.com/
I don't think it is worth much if you don't use it right... and I just can't sleep still on it..
Also I have a quite soft mattress so maybe that also needs to change (?)

I am definitely going to pursue the neck issue at depth, and will update everyone.

You need to find a way to sleep with your head and neck straight. You need to find a mattress and pillow combination that allows you to feel like you are almost floating with minimal sensation. Everybody is different. We all need to find our own system. We can't expect someone else to fix this without our effort.

Side sleepers can use a horseshoe pillow. I saw one on Groupon last week.

Those posture pillows are worthless to me. I need NO lift, just side support so my head does not roll to the side.

I learned to sleep on my back by first sleeping in a recliner chair. An adjustable bed may help.

When I sleep in a good posture, I wake up refreshed. If not, I have a lousy day.

I have a question about this in relation to NUCCA care. I've been "in alignment" since February (not sure the degree to which this has helped me, but I basically buy the general idea). Does this mean that my sleeping posture is OK? I move around at night from my back to either side, and generally try to keep my spine fairly level, although my head sometimes curls a little (i.e. my chin moves down towards my chest) or if I'm on my back my head might tilt slightly to one side.

Put another way, to what extent is being "in alignment" indicative of the overall health and well-being of the neck? If I'm "in alignment" does that generally mean that I have pretty good neck "hygiene"?

I'd say it means your neck is stable. It has ligaments that hold the cervical vertebra in place, even when the muscles are completely relaxed. For people who have unstable necks, they need to maintain good sleeping posture so they do not strain the ligaments and cervical vertebra alignment while sleeping. This good posture allows the ligaments to strengthen/tighten so they properly support alignment.

If you are maintaining alignment, your misalignment was likely minor and stabilized quickly.

Not everybody with a concussion has an unstable upper neck.

It took me a while to get to a place where I was holding for this long, months, but thankfully now it seems that even with bumps or jolts I keep my alignment. Again, I'm not sure if this is really making much of a difference in how I'm feeling, and it certainly hasn't done anything for my very tight neck, and still have some mobility issues. I'm hopeful some other adjustments by another chiropractor might help that, and I guess I'll just wait and see if those other adjustments threw my C1/C2 out of alignment.