Feeling dizzy or off-balance and don't know what to do to make it better? Whether you’ve suffered from a concussion, vestibular loss, or have balance issues, VIZSTIM is your at home recovery tool. VIZSTIM kits help promote active recovery and proactive prevention. Keep reading to learn more from the founder of VIZSTIM, Dr. Ashley Contreras PT, DPT, NCS.
"Hi, I’m Ashley Contreras and I am a board certified neurologic physical therapist with 14 years of experience in neurologic rehabilitation. I achieved my masters in physical therapy in 2007 and my doctorate in physical therapy in 2012. Early in my career I grew a passion for patients with neurologic impairments and went on to become a traveling
physical therapist working in many different settings around the United States. When I finally settled in an outpatient role as a neurologic PT I started increasing my caseload of patients with vestibular impairments. I wanted to learn everything I could to better help my patients and started researching vestibular disorders, recovery, and best practices. I often found these patients were frustrated by the management of their vestibular problems and knew we could improve the way these individuals were managed.
I have taken multiple vestibular courses and the complete concussion management
certificate program. My true knowledge comes from seeing complex vestibular cases
and working in a concussion clinic with a multidisciplinary team.
My goal is to improve vestibular recovery by providing patients knowledge and tools to
promote an active participation in their recovery. I want to change their mindset from the
beginning of their journey towards hope and recovery instead of frustration and
negativity.
Learn more about Ashley here.
As a vestibular PT I was searching for tools to make my job more efficient. I searched
for a vestibular toolkit and there wasn’t one, so I created my own at work. My patients
started asking where they could purchase the exercise cards that we were using. I offered that they take pictures and make their own for home use but since they preferred to purchase a set, I set out to start VIZSTIM.
What is Vestibular Rehabilitation? Learn more here.
VIZSTIM is a 3 level exercise kit. The exercises are a combination of visual, vestibular,
and somatosensory drills addressing all 3 systems that provide our sense of balance.
Prior to this system I was utilizing programs that focused on 1-2 of the 3 systems that
were weakened and when I combined all 3 my patients started getting better faster. I
created VIZSTIM to improve access to expert level care from the comfort of your home.
I had the idea before the pandemic started and it became more important to offer an at
home option once quarantine started.
VIZSTIM is geared towards both patients and physical therapists since there are
multiple kits. The clinician kit includes items for the vestibular physical therapist to
perform their assessment and treatment in the clinic or on the go for home concierge
services. The patient friendly kits are geared towards their individual impairments and
come with video access for easy to follow instructions. The patient kits are broken down
by diagnosis. Currently I have kits available for vestibular dysfunction, balance and fall
prevention, and concussion recovery. As long COVID patients are struggling with similar brain fog and processing problems this population would also benefit from use of the
vestibular dysfunction kit.
My goal is to promote knowledge among vestibular practitioner about VIZSTIM and can offer their patients an alternative when barriers to vestibular rehabilitation are present. These barriers can include healthcare costs, access to expert level care, distance traveled to therapies, time, and plateaus in progress. Our next launch will be a VIZSTIM certificate course which will include vestibular dysfunction, concussion management, and how to implement your VIZSTIM tools within your practice. I also hope to grow VIZSTIM providing telehealth across multiple states where patients can get quick access to vestibular rehabilitation experts."
Have more questions, or need to schedule an appointment?
Email me directly: Jessica@physioyogaandwellness.com
Schedule an appointment: https://www.physioyogaandwellness.com/book-online
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