Mark,

Should I be concerned that my vertigo (rocking, seasick feeling) is constant and not just when I'm moving around. Even sitting still or laying down I still feel rocking. Could this dizziness be coming from my neck? I've had an MRI done of my neck and it showed nothing abnormal. PT and acupuncture don't seem to help, but maybe I could benefit from an upper cervical chiropractor? Let me know your thoughts, thanks!

MOD

I am not Mark, but I have vestibular damage from concussion. I have the 24/7 dizziness. Just to clarify - the rocking/boat feeling is not called vertigo - true vertigo is a spinning sensation. It is helpful to distinguish this when talking to practicioners trying to diagnose you.

I do not know how far in recovery you are, but early on I would feel the dizziness even while lying down. Vestibular therapy and acupuncture have helped me so that on a good day I only feel it when making certain quick movements.

What type of PT are you seeing? Are they certified and well trained in vestibular therapy? If not, I suggest you see a vestibular specialist therapist. A run of the mill PT will not know enough about vestibular issues to properly help you. You can go to vestibular.org for help finding someone and for more information.

An upper cervical chiro did not help me, but that was just my experience. He did not treat the soft tissues in my neck. My vestibular office had a neck guy that did really gentle treatments to the tissues of my neck and it helped a lot.

Did you try acupuncture for a while? It may take a while to start helping. It also is worth asking around to find out who is the best of the best.

Just my two cents. Take care.

PS -

What are your daily activities like? Are you working and in what kind of job? I know for me, I had to quit working for a while in order to get better because I was pushing it too hard. But I had a very demanding job.

RR,

Thank you for your reply. I am always a little confused about how to describe my dizziness and which term to give it, so thanks for making the distinction.

I do see a very qualified vestibular therapist, so I have no worries about that. She has actually had 3 concussions and has inner ear damage herself, so I feel like I am in good hands.

I am 10 months PCS. Basically, to sum it up quickly. I did not have bad vestibular problems the first month of my concussion. The doctor I was seeing at the time prescibed me VT anyway, and sent me to a PT with limited understanding of vestibular dysfunction. Her misguidance increased my symptoms tenfold. Then I started seeing my current therapist, after about 5 months I started to feel much better, about 90% back to normal, but still had a constant low level rocking sensation, and I felt as if I was plateauing with therapy, so I decided to stop and see how my body reacted. I also wanted to explore other options. I went back to work (this was 7 months PCS) at my waitressing job, 2 shifts a week. I did this for about a month and felt really good, until a few unfortunate, stressful events sent me into relapse, all of my vestibular problems came back, so I went back to VT and have been going again for the past 2 months. I also had to stop working when I relapsed, but am now working 2-3 hours a week at a desk job, just to make a little cash.

I am seeing some slight improvement again so far, but I still wonder if my neck has anything to do with this. My therapist is also trained in Cranio Sacral Therapy, which does help get the knots out and loosen the muscles, but I still have a lot of pain at the base of my skull, in the suboccipital region, and my upper cervical spine feels "jammed" (I don't know how else to describe it). So I wonder if this is causing that last little bit of dizziness I was feeling a few months ago.

As for acupuncture, I have been going for about 5 sessions. The last 2 sessions I finally felt it working. I felt the energy flowing through me, my body was pulsating, I felt insanely calm, BUT it also made my dizziness and nauseau significantly worse. It stayed that way for a few hours after treatment, and then went back to the level it was at originally before the treatment, so I am not sure if this is good or bad. People are telling me that it's good, because it shows that the pathogens are being released from my body. So I will keep going for now.

Sorry this was a long post, but I like to be detailed, and it has been a crazy ride so far. I wonder, are you still doing any treatments for your dizziness? I feel like their must be some reason our bodies are not compensating completely to the dizziness. I have an elementary knowledge of vestibular issues, but I feel like if desensitization alone does not completely resolve the dizziness, their are other therapies that can?

"I am seeing some slight improvement again so far, but I still wonder if my neck has anything to do with this. My therapist is also trained in Cranio Sacral Therapy, which does help get the knots out and loosen the muscles, but I still have a lot of pain at the base of my skull, in the suboccipital region, and my upper cervical spine feels "jammed" (I don't know how else to describe it). So I wonder if this is causing that last little bit of dizziness I was feeling a few months ago."

Keep the CST away from your skull. The upper neck work is good. Gentle.....

An upper cervical chiro may help. They each have different skills sets and every patient is different.

It is extremely important to be disciplined with head and neck posture, especially during sleep and rest. I know that I could be great one day then all messed up the next because of sleeping neck posture.

Anxiety/stress can sometimes cause neck muscle spams that could magnify your problems. Your relapse after the stressful event suggests anxiety may be making your symptoms worse, either just the anxiety or the anxiety causing muscle spams. Learning to remove yourself from stressful events when possible will be a big help.

I've had many concussion but my most recent November 15' and that one was vestibular. It took me down a dark rabbit hole for a while with a lot of the same things you have mentioned. My anxiety was off the charts, my resting heart rate was over 100 for about 3 months. My vision and balance were awful. The first thing I want to ask, has someone done the Epply maneuver on you? I'm sure they have but if not that helps with a lot of the dizziness. I also was put on a low sugar, low carb, and gluten free diet. Its what most neurologist recommend for a healthy brain. I did my pt work and eye and balance exercises. About 4 months after I started feeling a lot better. I made it back to being my normal self with just some ringing in my ears. Other than the PT I don't know what else really helps other than time. I tried all the other stuff with no real results. Good luck to you!!

Steve,
Thank you for your reply. I have not had the Epley maneuver done, because I do not have positional vertigo (BPPV). My dizziness is related to eye/head movement and gaze stabilization problems, unfortunately, so it takes longer to fix than BPPV.

I am thinking of trying that diet that you mentioned, because I have been having stomach problems as of late, and I think too many carbs may be the culprit.

I'm glad to hear vestibular therapy gave you relief, it did wonders for me as well, but I still always had a low level of dizziness, so I just wanted to consider other causes since a lot of other things (like neck pain) can cause dizziness. I know the therapy will help me get back to where I was before my relapse, I am just getting a little impatient. Yesterday was my 50th visit! But I must stay strong ;-) .

I had both issues. I made it back to 99.9% back but I've relapsed again the last 10 days. I feel your pain because I'm 45 as well and they say it takes more to heal as you get older. Its rehab and I'm like you, its hard to be patient but you have to look at how much farther ahead then where you started at. Its sad to know how many friends have had similar issues. Good luck and stay strong. Happiness will return much like Jon Snow!

Hello everyone,

Just like you, I feel dizzy with movements and have an extreme anxiety and I think developed a depression overt not being able to do anything and stay at home and on the couch most of the time ( I’m 2 months PCs). I actually had an improvement 2 weeks ago and that’s when i has my guests VT, neck PT- that set me off and sent me to square 1.. a few days later I also had to do Rivera our 2 miles to pickup my son- which made things even worse...
Now I’m just wondering if I just need to be on bed rest to get back to where I was ( because that’s what really helped me to get better to begin with)...

I also had to go to ER for a horrible head pressure and headache, where ER doc mentioned if only people with PCS stopped using screens , maybe the symptoms wouldn’t linger as much.. what are your thoughts?
Do you notice that screens set you off big time and delay your healing?
How does it demonstrate?
Thanks for your response!