Vertigo, dizziness and Ménière's: what has been studied

The room spins, or you feel like you're on a boat. The ear tests came back normal, or came back with a label and a prescription that didn't change much.

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Dizziness is hard to explain to anyone who hasn't had it, and harder still when the tests don't show anything. Many people are told it's anxiety. This page gathers the published upper cervical research on vertigo, dizziness and Ménière's disease, including two large case series from single practices and a recent review of the NUCCA literature.

6 studies on this page

  • Designs: Case series, retrospective case series, case report, narrative review
  • Published: 2000 to 2026
  • NUCCA lineage: marked on the NUCCA studies. QSM3, the method used at our office, is a progression of NUCCA.

Where these studies sit, by design and year

6 studies, published 2000 to 2026. Strongest design: case series. 1 in the NUCCA lineage, ringed.

the studies

What each study looked at

Strongest study design first. The dots show the design, from a single case (one dot) to a controlled trial (four). How to read this library

Case series2016Toggle recoil or knife-edge, guided by Blair X-ray analysisNot indexed in PubMed

300 people with Ménière's disease, followed for six years

Who and how many
300 people with Ménière's disease in the author's practice. The study starts from the idea that an upper neck injury, from a car accident or a blow to the head, is one cause.
What was measured
Thermography and leg-length tests to decide when to correct, Blair X-ray analysis for the direction, then each person's own 0 to 10 rating of vertigo intensity before care, at six weeks, and yearly for six years.
What was found
The average vertigo rating went from 8.5 before care to 3.0 at six weeks and 0.8 in years four to six. 97% described a large improvement in vertigo, and 3% reported headache as a side effect.
Limits
One practitioner's patients, self-rated vertigo, and no comparison group. The abstract doesn't say how many people were still being followed in the later years, which matters for averages over six years.

Read the abstract on the journal's site → Source 1

Retrospective case series2006IUCCA upper cervical protocolNot indexed in PubMed

Sixty people with chronic vertigo, most after a head or neck injury

Who and how many
60 patients in the author's own practice over eight years, diagnosed by their physicians with chronic vertigo of several kinds: BPPV, cervicogenic, disembarkment syndrome, labyrinthitis, Ménière's and migraine-associated vertigo. 56 recalled a head or neck injury before the vertigo began, most often a car accident.
What was measured
Thermal imaging along the spine and laser-aligned X-rays to look for upper neck misalignment, then the course of their vertigo over one to six months of upper cervical care under the IUCCA protocol.
What was found
The author found upper neck misalignment in all 60. She reports that 48 were free of vertigo after care and the other 12 had fewer or milder episodes.
Limits
A look back at one practitioner's own patients, uncontrolled and not randomized, as the author notes. People who chose this care may differ from others with vertigo. The author calls for a controlled study with a larger sample.

Read the abstract on the journal's site → Source 2

Case report2026Knee Chest upper cervical

A 44-year-old office worker with three years of vertigo and suspected Ménière's disease

Who and how many
One woman, 44, with episodes of vertigo, imbalance, ringing in her right ear, a full feeling in that ear, headache and anxiety. Her working diagnosis was Ménière's disease, and medication had helped only a little.
What was measured
Posture, neck motion, balance testing and thermography at the start, then the Bournemouth Questionnaire (a 0 to 70 score of how much symptoms affect daily life) across 36 visits of Knee Chest upper cervical care.
What was found
Her score went from 60 to 17 by the end of her first care plan, with fewer vertigo spells and better balance, ringing, sleep and anxiety. Partway through care she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Most of the gains held, with some mild slipping in the exam findings during that time.
Limits
One person and no comparison. Vestibular migraine was not ruled out. The author calls the findings hypothesis-generating only and says controlled studies are needed.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 3

Case report2020OrthospinologyNot indexed in PubMed

A 68-year-old woman with eight years of Ménière's disease

Who and how many
One woman, 68, diagnosed with Ménière's disease, with eight years of worsening vertigo, roaring tinnitus and vomiting. Earlier chiropractic and nutritional care had not helped.
What was measured
Her symptoms, and her ENT's assessment, over 13 months of Orthospinology care with 10 pre-calculated atlas corrections.
What was found
After five months her ENT found she was no longer showing Ménière's symptoms. Over the course of care she reported one episode of minor dizziness and no further vertigo, roaring tinnitus or vomiting.
Limits
One person and no comparison. Ménière's disease can have long quiet spells on its own, which a single case can't separate from care.

Read the abstract on the journal's site → Source 4

Case report2000Upper cervical specific

A 75-year-old woman with vertigo, ringing in the ears and hearing loss

Who and how many
One woman, 75, with long-standing vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss that had grown worse in the five weeks before she came in. X-rays showed degenerative changes in the lower neck.
What was measured
Hearing tests, X-rays, a quality-of-life survey (RAND 36), and skin temperature readings along the spine, which were used to decide when a correction was needed.
What was found
Over the course of upper cervical care her symptoms eased, her hearing test results improved, and follow-up X-rays showed structural and functional change.
Limits
One person and no comparison group. A single case can describe what happened; it can't show why.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 5

Narrative review2025NUCCANUCCA lineage

A review of what has been written about NUCCA care and dizziness

Who and how many
No new patients. A narrative review by a researcher with the Upper Cervical Research Foundation, gathering the case reports, theory and background on the atlas and dizziness.
What was measured
How a misaligned atlas might relate to dizziness, how the NUCCA procedure works, and what the existing literature reports.
What was found
Case reports and theory suggest the atlas may contribute to some dizziness, and that NUCCA care may be followed by improvement.
Limits
The author says plainly that high-quality studies are lacking, and that observational studies and randomized trials are needed. A narrative review summarizes; it does not test anything.

Read the abstract on PubMed → Source 6

before you draw conclusions

What this research does and doesn't tell you

This is the most-studied topic in the library, and still none of it has a comparison group. The two large series each come from one practitioner's own patients and rely mostly on what patients reported, and the NUCCA review's author says high-quality studies are lacking. That is the honest state of this research. Dizziness has many possible causes, some of them serious, so a sudden change in dizziness belongs with your medical doctor first.

Published research can't predict what will happen for any one person, including you. Studies report averages and single stories; your nervous system is your own. That is why The Lazar Method™ starts with measurement, not with a promise.

We measure first, so the answer is about you, not an average.

Before any correction we measure how your nervous system is regulating your body: heart rate variability, thermal and muscle tone scans, PostureIQ™, and digital X-ray of the upper neck. QSM3, the method used at our office, is a progression of NUCCA. Dr. Jonathan Lazar, D.C., or someone personally trained by him, will go over your scans and images with you.

If we can help, we'll tell you. If we can't, we'll help you find someone who can.

Talk it through on a 15-minute Clarity Call →

This page is educational and is not medical advice. Keep the doctors who know you in the loop.

citations

Sources

  1. Burcon MT. 2016. Health Outcomes Following Cervical Specific Protocol in 300 Patients with Meniere’s Followed Over Six Years Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research June 2, 2016:13-23. Not indexed in PubMed. Article page on vertebralsubluxationresearch.com
  2. Elster EL. 2006. Sixty Patients With Chronic Vertigo Undergoing Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care to Correct Vertebral Subluxation: A Retrospective Analysis Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research November 8, 2006:1-9. Not indexed in PubMed. Article page on vertebralsubluxationresearch.com
  3. Rai S. 2026. Resolution of Treatment-Resistant Vertigo and Suspected Ménière's Disease Following Knee Chest Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care: A Case Report. Cureus 18(7):e113493. PubMed 42534238 · DOI 10.7759/cureus.113493 · free full text
  4. Berner N, Steward T. 2020. Resolution of Meniere’s Disease in a 68-Year-Old Female Following Upper Cervical Chiropractic to Reduce Atlas Subluxation Using Orthospinology Technique: A Case Study & Review of Literature Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research April 27, 2020:8-14. Not indexed in PubMed. Article page on vertebralsubluxationresearch.com
  5. Kessinger RC, Boneva DV. 2000. Vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss in the geriatric patient. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 23(5):352-62. PubMed 10863256
  6. Steward T. 2025. Atlas Subluxation Complex, National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association Intervention, and Dizziness Improvement: A Narrative Review of Historical Perspectives, Literature Synthesis, and a Path for Future Care. Cureus 17(2):e79310. PubMed 40125217 · DOI 10.7759/cureus.79310 · free full text

Titles are quoted exactly as published. Sources checked 2026-11-03.

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