Scoliosis & Vertigo: Can Scoliosis Make You Dizzy?

Each case of scoliosis is unique, which is why its complex nature necessitates the customization of effective treatment plans. As the spine is in partnership with the brain to form the body's central nervous system, spinal conditions can also affect brain-body communication, which can cause a number of different effects. Continue reading to explore the connection between scoliosis and vertigo.

Vertigo is not a condition; it's a symptom of vestibular system dysfunction. The vestibular system includes the brain and parts of the inner ear. Feeling dizzy is a symptom of scoliosis and vertigo, but studies found the connection between scoliosis and vertigo to be unclear.

As vertigo is more a symptom than a condition, let's start by exploring the vestibular system and how it's related to dizziness.

Understanding Vertigo

While most people think of vertigo as a condition, it's actually referring more to a set of symptoms caused by a variety of vestibular disorders and/or vestibular dysfunction.

There are a number of instances where symptoms are confused with the underlying condition, and this can be harmful because in order to address a symptom effectively, its underlying cause has to shape the design of effective treatment plans.

There is a big difference between treating only a symptom, or the cause of the symptom. Prescription pain medication is a perfect example of how symptoms can be responded to in a quick-fix kind of manner, rather than treating the condition that's causing the pain for actually sustainable long-term results.

Effectively treating any condition, scoliosis included, involves addressing its root cause; symptoms are how a body is responding to the presence of a condition/disease, and this is a key distinction.

The vestibular system includes parts of the inner ear that play a role in maintaining balance and coordination; the inner ear is described as a bony labyrinthine structure consisting of the vestibule, semicircular canals, and the membranes within.

People describe vertigo as a spinning feeling where themselves and/or their surroundings seem to be moving, although they're not.

These sensations can occur while still, during movement, or when in certain positions. Feelings of lightheadedness, general dizziness, and floating are also common.

Parts of the brain are also included in the vestibular system, and along with balance, the system facilitates proprioception (being aware of the body's position in the absence of visual cues), and eye movement.

If the vestibular system is impaired or damaged, vestibular disorders that cause a number of unpleasant symptoms can develop.

Vestibular System Abnormality Symptoms

When it comes to vestibular system abnormalities, related symptoms can range in nature, frequency, and severity.

Common symptoms can include:

• Dizziness - feeling faint, lightheaded, and unsteady
• Brain fog - when the vestibular system is impaired in some way, the brain has to work harder to maintain equilibrium/balance
• Balance issues - feeling disoriented, unsteady, and experiencing a loss of equilibrium
• Vertigo - the feeling of spinning despite being still (the perception of movement while remaining still is a common aspect of vertigo).

The brain has to counteract the shortcomings of a disrupted vestibular system, so brain function can also be affected: difficulty recalling short-term memories, details, and brain fog is commonly described as feeling medicated and slow.

Additional symptoms can include tinnitus (the perception of sounds or noises in one or both ears) which can be intermittent or constant. This is often described as a ringing, hissing, whistling, clicking, or buzzing sound.

A loss of hearing, vision, nausea, debilitating headaches/migraines and motion-sickness can also occur.

These symptoms can range from mild and intermittent to chronic and debilitating.

Now that we've explored the nature and symptoms associated with vestibular-system issues, let's explore the nature of, and connection with, scoliosis.

Understanding Scoliosis

Being diagnosed with scoliosis can affect many aspects of life from postural changes to pain, and potential complications more common in severe cases.

Scoliosis involves the development of an unhealthy lateral (side-to-side) abnormal curvature of the spine.

Developing an abnormal sideways curvature, when accompanied by rotation, is scoliosis, and as a progressive condition, scoliosis has it in its nature to worsen over time, meaning the unnatural spinal curve is virtually guaranteed to increase in size.

When the spine has an unhealthy curve, its vertebrae are misaligned, and a misaligned spine is one that's not going to function optimally.

Scoliosis severity is determined by a measurement known as Cobb angle, taken during X-ray by drawing lines from the tops and bottoms of the vertebrae at the curve's apex (the most-tilted vertebrae); the intersecting lines from an angle expressed in degrees.

• Mild scoliosis: Cobb angle measurement of between 10 and 25 degrees
• Moderate scoliosis: Cobb angle measurement of between 25 and 40 degrees
• Severe scoliosis: Cobb angle of 40+ degrees
• Very-severe scoliosis: Cobb angle of 80+ degrees

From mild to very severe is the condition's progressive line, and while in the condition's most common type, idiopathic scoliosis, we don't know why it develops, we most certainly know how to treat it effectively, and we understand what triggers its progression: growth and development.

Different Types of Scoliosis

In addition to ranging widely in severity, scoliosis has different condition types based on causation.

As mentioned, idiopathic scoliosis affects both children and adults the most, with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis being the most prevalent form of all.

Idiopathic scoliosis accounts for approximately 80 percent of known diagnosed scoliosis cases, with the remaining 20 percent consisting of types associated with known causes: neuromuscular scoliosis, congenital scoliosis, and degenerative scoliosis.

So in idiopathic scoliosis, we don't have a single clear causative source; instead, it's thought to be multifactorial, meaning caused by the combination of multiple factors that can vary from person to person.

And this is where some theories regarding a connection between vertigo and scoliosis come in.

Scoliosis introduces a lot of uneven forces to the body, and many with scoliosis describe feeling unbalanced, pulled to one side, dizzy and suffering from headaches; people with a vestibular system disruption describe many of those same symptoms.

Scoliosis is also known to cause balance, coordination, proprioception, and equilibrium issues: more shared symptoms.

Scoliosis and Vestibular Disorders

The reality is that many patients present with both scoliosis and vertigo, and it's not always a simple process determining which is the cause, if there is one, if and how they're connected.

Remember, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is thought to be multifactorial, so with this in mind, a vestibular system abnormality could be a contributing factor in the development of scoliosis, or the scoliosis could be a contributing factor in the development of vertigo symptoms.

Vestibular imbalance has been posited as a potential source of scoliosis etiology, and while some studies support a connection between scoliosis and vertigo due to the condition's multifactorial nature, the connection is more correlative than causative.

The Research Says...

In one 2006 study, the prevalence of patients with scoliosis, osteoporosis, and vertigo, and why they all commonly present together was questioned, and this study looked at scoliosis as a condition related more to atypical bone formation than muscular imbalance (as it had been commonly viewed in the past).

Researchers found osteopenia (low bone density) and scoliosis progression were related; the lower a patient's bone quality, the more progression they experienced.

The fact that osteopenia was found in so many adolescents with scoliosis, when osteopenia is typically found in aging adults, gave more support to the theory.

The study also explored the connection between scoliosis and vertigo coupling clinically, while presenting many vestibular disorders as connected to calcium carbonate crystals coming loose in the middle ear, disrupting the position sensitive hair cells located inside.

Once again, it appears that bone formation/composition is a factor as bone density is found in patients with scoliosis, osteoarthritis and vertigo.

Unifying Theory

Due to the high incidence of osteoporosis, vertigo, and scoliosis presenting together, a unifying theory was the goal.

Lasting five years, study conclusions indicated that vertigo was directly connected to bone density, composition, and health, which we know are also huge factors in scoliosis and osteoporosis.

Bone mineral density testing was performed and blood samples were taken from 132 patients suffering from vertigo to detect certain bone-turnover markers: alkaline phosphatase and calcitonin, for example.

Vitamin D and calcium levels were recorded, and vitamin d deficiency was revealed as a strong marker for all three: vertigo, scoliosis, and osteoporosis.

Therefore, the unifying theory supports that vertigo, scoliosis, and osteoporosis are all conditions related to bone remodeling.

So let's now clearly answer, can scoliosis make you dizzy?

Can Scoliosis Make You Dizzy?

Scoliosis can most certainly make people dizzy, and this is for different reasons, but remember, as each case is so unique, what one patient experiences isn't always indicative of what others will face.

Scoliosis affects children and adolescents mainly with postural deviation, which is caused by a disruption to the body's overall symmetry due to the condition's uneven forces.

Considering one of the spine's many important roles is to facilitate the ability to stand upright, practice good posture, and related balance, coordination, and equilibrium, it's understandable that a spinal condition like scoliosis could lead to feelings of dizziness and vertigo.

Scoliosis has a clear connection with chronic headaches tension headaches, and migraines because of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that lives in and around the spinal cord and brain; when an unnatural spinal curve disrupts the flow of CSF within, it can cause changing pressure in and around the brain, which can lead to severe headaches and migraines; this is particularly common when scoliosis is in the cervical spine (neck).

Dizziness is a common feature of headaches and migraines, so scoliosis is associated with dizziness.

As parts of the vestibular system include the brain, and the spine and brain work in tandem to form the central nervous system (the body's vast communication network), scoliosis does have the potential of disrupting brain function within the vestibular system.

And in addition, the study discussed earlier found links between vertigo, scoliosis, the vestibular system and issues related to bone composition, and anatomical differences in the inner ear of scoliosis patients.

While the current thought is that there is no definitive causative connection between adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and vestibular system abnormalities, there does appear to be strong supporting evidence for links between them, with vertigo and dizziness also being a common scoliosis symptom.

Conclusion

While scoliosis symptoms vary from patient to patient, there are some common symptoms, one of which is vertigo and/or dizziness.

The connection between vertigo and scoliosis is thought to be linked with bone health and vestibular system abnormalities, supported by the prevalence of scoliosis, vertigo, and osteoporosis presenting together.

As a direct causative connection has yet to be found, new research exploring the connection is needed.

In the end, I think it's fair to say that adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a multifactorial condition, with vestibular-system issues being a potential factor.

Here at the Scoliosis Reduction Center, scoliosis patients suffering from dizziness and/or vertigo report vast symptom improvement once a curvature reduction is achieved: a main goal of conservative chiropractic-centered treatment.