Effectiveness of Sub-occipital Release In Cervicogenic Vertigo

Abstract

Background: Cervicogenic vertigo is defined as a sensation of rotation, resulting from an alteration of the neck proprioceptive afferents of the upper cervical spine. Sub-occipital Release, a type of Myofascial Release (MFR) is a form of manual therapy technique which can be used for the treatment of cervicogenic vertigo. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to minimize the use of equipment and patient positioning, thus making it easy for providers to treat by using the suboccipital myofascial release technique and find the effects of this technique on cervicogenic vertigo. Objective: To determine whether sub-occipital myofascial release technique in upper cervical region is more effective than the use of conventional exercises in improvement of the symptoms of cervicogenic vertigo. Setting: Otolaryngology(ENT) and orthopaedic clinics of Pune city. Method: We carried out a prospective, randomized controlled, in 60 subjects with cervicogenic vertigo who were assigned randomly to an Exercise group (N = 17) and Sub-occipital Release group (N = 17). Subjects received treatment three times a week, for 2 weeks. By the end of session, pre‑ and post‑comparison was done for the signs and symptoms of cervicogenic vertigo. Participants: Age group 20-40 years were taken for the study. Patients with other types or causes of vertigo, acute cervical fractures or atlanto-axial joint instability were excluded from the study. Outcome measure: The primary outcome measure of this study was to find the intensity of the signs and symptoms of cervicogenic vertigo by using a Dizziness Handicap Inventory-NDI Questionnaire[6] . Results: Statistical significance was found between and within the groups with respect to the signs and symptoms of cervicogenic vertigo. The results showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) between the pre-treatment and post-treatment values for both the groups. Also, a significant improvement of signs and symptoms of cervicogenic vertigo was found in the sub-occipital group as compared to the exercise group. Conclusion: This study concluded that sub-occipital release technique is significantly effective for the treatment of cervicogenic vertigo.