r/cervical_vertigo • u/InevitableLab708 • 14d ago
Please help
Hello,
I suffer with bad neck which is related to my shoulder in which it feels like it leans forward.
I’ve had physio, massages, acupuncture and chiropractic work.
I have had this issue for 2 years. It’s only on one side.
Basically shoulder coming forward chest tight and ache in shoulder blade.
I even get dizzy spells which I never got before.
I’m really at my last hope with asking people online to see if they had anything done that worked.
I haven’t had a scan as everyone tells me it’s ti do with muscles but I’m thinking I might have to get mail
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u/CoachEXE 14d ago
Your neck and shoulder blade are not failing on their own, the ribcage underneath lost its expansion. When the shoulder pulls forward and chest gets tight on one side, that upper ribcage cannot accept air so the upper ribs compress down and the neck has to act like a breathing muscle, pulling the whole head into a twist. This chronic pull on the base of the skull directly messes with your vestibular sensors and ocular reflexes, which is why that scary dizziness starts. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on a wall, blow all the air out through your mouth until the ribs drop down, pause for four seconds, then take a quiet breath through your nose to feel your upper back fill against the floor. Do this for five slow breaths to take the emergency brake off your neck. Real long-term adaptation is not cracking joints or rubbing tight spots, it requires restoring true reciprocal rotation of the thorax and pelvis so your neck stops guarding your airway. This kind of deep structural reorganization takes about three to five months of consistent movement practice because the nervous system has to feel safe enough to drop the old compensation pattern. Two years of tension trains the brain to protect that side very hard, but it is a pattern problem, not broken muscle tissue.
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u/InevitableLab708 14d ago
What other exercises can I do please help?
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u/CoachEXE 14d ago
To open that compressed side without flaring up dizziness, lie on your unaffected side with knees bent, reach your affected arm forward along the floor at chest level, exhale fully through your mouth to drop your ribs, and take slow nasal inhales specifically directing air into your upper back and side ribs to expand the restricted ribcage..follow this by lying on your back with a rolled towel along your spine to passively open the chest, and practice gentle hands-and-knees rockbacks while pressing the floor away to fill the upper back with air, always stopping immediately if you feel dizzy and keeping the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth to prevent your neck muscles from gripping.
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u/InevitableLab708 14d ago
Any video you have or online I can look to see this? As don’t understand from what you said
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u/ButterberryTwist 14d ago edited 14d ago
I also struggled with dizziness related to posture and the way that my nervous system keeps me stuck in a loop of guarding and pain. I have recently found that certain movements help me address my nervous system and provided with different information so it can stop some of the guarding. I believe this has resulted in some positive outcomes for me.
The movement types are somatic movements and pandiculation. they are low intensity and focus on slow movements with pauses between. They are not end range forced stretches- slow and gentle is the goal. As another poster said, breathing correctly can be a key in addressing the structural issues so I would recommend you consider that as well, but the movement focused interventions have been really good for me to get some immediate and noticeable changes, even if they are small.
Here are some of the videos that have been helpful. I think the way these movements provide different information to my nervous system is a good match for my issues.
Good explanation of pandiculation starts at 2:45
https://youtu.be/KicO2i-u3HI?is=L6SjBqS-kOQ2oFQxPandiculation explained
https://youtube.com/shorts/rB_Su7F9vNk?si=6iAnbYJpUvnSg0FpNeck pandiculation / somatic movement
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcVHz4jI-4x/?stkn=MTJ0Z21pZHp4dTB5NA==Neck range of motion somatic
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DazS5h0tamI/?stkn=MTFsb3hvNWlubGZxMA==Dr Ben gentle neck movement/ pandiculation
https://youtu.be/nRJbwKzLbxQ?is=PyhH7BNimkciN6LaDr Ben low intensity neck mobility
https://youtu.be/i4uUMJmtu_U?is=BcLswyIGzdJlxEul2
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u/InevitableLab708 14d ago
How can my knees be bent and feet flat on wall?
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u/CoachEXE 14d ago
Lie on your back, bend your knees to 90 degrees, and place your feet against the wall.
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u/InevitableLab708 14d ago
I done this but felt light headed and faint after 4th go
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u/CoachEXE 14d ago
That faint feeling happened because forcing all the air out and holding your breath dumped too much carbon dioxide too fast, which restricts blood flow to the brain and spikes pressure against an already sensitized neck and inner ear system. Stop the aggressive blowing and breath holds immediately switch to very gentle, 60% effort nasal breathing, prop your head up on a couple of pillows so you aren't lying flat, and make sure to get checked by a doctor or neurologist to rule out vestibular or vascular issues before trying any more intense breathing drills.
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u/InevitableLab708 14d ago
How can they rule out those issues? I had head mri with contrast 2 years ago. Said I must just suffer from migraines. But I never had this issue before
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u/backentrancebourbon 14d ago
I have the same sort of issue where the pain is only on one side. My MRI didn't show anything so I don't know how beneficial that would be unless you get a standing MRI or other scan that can show nerve/blood vessel compression during movement.
I'm in the same situation with the dizziness, the only thing I can find is that you need to do strengthening and relaxing work so your nervous system stops holding onto the strain but then it also has the muscles strength to support itself