"Cervical vertigo is caused by pathological conditions of neck like cervical spondylosis, cervical traction and trauma. Three basic machanisms have been postulated to explain the cervical vertigo. They are; (1) Arthritic involvement of sympathetic plexus around the vertebral arteries (2) Altered tonic neck reflexes (3) Osteophytic compression of vertebral arteries Cervical spondylosis leads to direct and indirect vascular disturbances which can affect the cochlea and the vestibular labyrinth. The latter has a marked power of adaptability whereas the cochlea cannot regenerate once it is damaged.

Cervical spondylosis and whiplash injury may cause vertigo by interfering with proprioception and movement of the neck.

Vestibular symptoms often occur after injury to the neck. Patients with cervical vertigo may complain of persistent vertigo or episodic vertigo associated with positional changes. The underlying pathology probably involves damage to neck proprioceptors that send inputs to the vestibular nuclei, although the exact etiology remains unclear. Other possible explanations include vertebrobasilar ischemia secondary to compression from osteophytes, irritation of the vertebral sympathetic plexus due to cervical spondylosis, the aortic arch syndrome, and subclavian steal syndrome.

TREATMENTS:-

1. T. Cinnarazine
2. Anti-emetics if there is associated vomiting
3. Avoidance of critical neck positions
4. Neck exercises
5. Cervical Collar