A pinched nerve in the upper part of the spine, known as the cervical spine, can potentially cause dizziness. However, dizziness isn’t a common symptom of a pinched nerve.

Pinched nerves typically cause pain and weakness that may spread from the neck into the:

  • arm
  • chest
  • shoulders
  • upper back

Inflammation can also activate the nerve endings, which can activate the parasympathetic nervous system as well as the muscles in your cervical spine.

When certain nerves in the cervical spine become pinched or compressed, it can potentially affect your body’s ability to sense movement, action, and location. This mismatch can lead to feelings of dizziness. This may be called cervicogenic vertigo. You may feel:

  • lightheaded or faint
  • dizziness or disequilibrium
  • vertigo, like the world is spinning around you

An MRI can show some causes of cervical nerve compression and cervical vertigo. For example, if you have a:

However, it cannot definitively show that dizziness is caused by the pinched nerve in the neck.

Some research suggests that dizziness can also potentially cause neck pain. Additionally, injuries like whiplash can also cause both neck pain and benign positional vertigo (BPV), which affects the inner ear and can cause dizziness.

A doctor may have to request other tests to rule out other causes of your dizziness. This can include:

They may also recommend you try physical therapy, such as cervical traction, to see if it resolves your symptoms. If it does, it may be that the pinched nerve was the cause.

If you have dizziness and neck pain, it’s possible they have the same cause. But it’s also possible that your dizziness may result from another health issue, such as: