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Improve Your Dizziness & Balance with VIZSTIM

Writer's picture: Jessica Klain PT, DPTJessica Klain PT, DPT

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."


Purchase a vestibular kit here, balance kit here, and concussion kit here.


Have more questions, or need to schedule an appointment?

Email me directly: Jessica@physioyogaandwellness.com

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