North 49 Introduction to Vestibular Therapy Hybrid Course

This foundational/intermediate level course is intended for physical therapists, chiropractors, athletic therapists, audiologists, occupational therapists, nurse practitioners, and other health care professionals who see patients experiencing dizziness and/or unsteadiness.

Really, this course was made for you if you:

1. See a need in this area and would like some direction to know where to start.
2. Have dabbled in this area and experienced a mix of success and failures.
3. Have dabbled in this area and feel limited due to lack of training.
4. Deal with athletes with concussion and want to know more than VOMS. 
5. Want to know more than just how to treat BPPV.
6. Have taken vestibular courses in the past and would like a refresher or update. 
7. Are looking to specialize in an unique "niche" area to set you apart from competitors.
8. Are considering ways to improve the quality of life for those in your community.
9. Are curious as to what the field of vestibular therapy is all about.

If any of these resonate with you, we cannot wait to work with you this October in Ottawa! 

Conditions that will be covered in this course include, but are not limited to: 

• BPPV.
• Vestibular hypofunction (unilateral & bilateral).
• Meniere's disease & secondary endolyphatic hydrops.
• Motion sensitivity.
• PPPD.
• Perilyphatic fistula.
• Vestibular Schwannoma/acoustic neuroma. 
• Vestibular migraines.
• Concussion/TBI.
• Cervicogenic dizziness.
• Orthostatic hypotension.

The course will also cover how to address dizziness and unsteadiness associated with age related changes & central vestibular disorders (i.e. cerebellar atrophy, stroke, Parkinson's, cerebellar tumour). This will include standardized static and dynamic tests to assess balance.

By the end of this course one should be able to:

1. Explain in lay terms the anatomy and physiology of the vestibular system.
2. Perform a vestibular assessment, interpret the findings and identify those who will respond to vestibular therapy and those who need further investigation.
3. Develop and implement a treatment plan for those who will benefit from vestibular therapy.
4. Understand the expectations for treatment, outcome, and timeframes.

Bottom line: Our goal is that you experience a transition to feeling confident in your skillset and improved outcomes with this patient population. 

We want you to look forward to seeing your next patient with dizziness the Monday after the course.

The online content will be sent out to course participants 3 weeks before the in-person component of this course. 

Module 1 covers background epidemiology, anatomy and physiology of the vestibular system. 

Module 2 covers history taking and how history taking can help us tease out if the dizziness is coming from the brain, inner ear, or some other condition. 

Module 3 reviews how to perform pertinent bedside oculomotor testing. In this module we also cover how to treat the most common form of BPPV. 

To respect other course participant's time it is expected that everyone will have completed the online course and post (online course) test prior to the in-person component. 

During the in-person component there will be a live patient assessment, lab time to review the oculomotor tests covered during the online component as well as for all of the techniques covered during the in-person component. 

Enrolment is limited as we find this allows adequate time for the course instructor to ensure that everyone can perform the techniques covered. 

The in-person component will also cover the assessment and management of the following:

• BPPV.
• Vestibular hypofunction.
• Motion sensitivity & PPPD.
• Meniere's disease/endolymphatic hydrops.
• Perilymphatic fistula.
• Acoustic neuroma.
• Cervicogenic dizziness.
• Concussion.
• Migraines. 
• Other central vestibular disorders.
• Those at fall risk.

Along with this, there will be an overview of investigations (i.e. vHIT, calorics, cranial imaging, hearing tests). 

The in-person component will be Friday (12:30 to 5pm) and Saturday (8am to 4:30pm). This means you still have time to relax before getting back to work on Monday.

Kregg is excited to facilitate this course. He has been a registered physical therapist since 1995. Over the years his caseload has shifted from solely orthopedic to a mix of orthopedic and vestibular. With this background he has also established a reputation for treating concussion, having treated athletes in the NFL, CFL, college ranks, WHL, high school athletes, and the weekend warrior.

In 1998, he took his first course in the field of vestibular rehabilitation. In 2008, he completed all of the requirements of the Vestibular Rehabilitation: a competency based course at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. Since then he has continued to take ongoing courses throughout North America in regards to orthopedics, traumatic brain injury, and vestibular therapy. He has also been asked to teach weekend courses and present at various conferences throughout North America and Europe.

In 2010, Kregg opened North 49 Physical Therapy and the North 49 Balance & Dizziness Centre in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The clinic has since grown from a staff of one to seven physical therapists, where over half of the caseload consists of patients with dizziness and/or balance issues. The clinic also has partnered with a great  group of consultants to include otolaryngology, neurology, audiology, occupational therapy, psychology, and neuropsychology. 

Aside from clinical practice and facilitating ongoing education in the area of vestibular therapy, Kregg is a member of the U of S Huskie Athletics Health Coalition.

This course will be hosted at:

Beechwood Physical Medicine

9 St. Charles Street

Ottawa, ON

K1L 0B5

That is a great question and the simple answer is no. There are actually no courses that will allow for this. As we outline in this course, dizziness can be due to many causes including the vestibular system, cardiovascular system, metabolic system, conditions affecting the neck, mental health, and so on. 

Rather, this course is aimed at developing a framework to assist you in subcategorizing dizziness to determine who you can treat and who needs to be referred elsewhere. The course material will also cover how to differentiate and manage the most common central, peripheral, and non-vestibular conditions that you will see clinically. 

Bottom line, is by the end of this course you should have a thorough understanding of how to manage the majority of vestibular cases that come your way. 

You will have unlimited access to online portion of the course that will be released 3 weeks before the in-person component. There is no expiry date for the online portion. 

A PDF file of all the course slides for the in-person component will be provided as well. 

• PDF downloads of the slides that you can reference as needed.
• Multiple “cheat sheets” for rapid access during your busy day.
• Downloadable images that are copyright and royalty free for you to use as you wish.
• Step by step demonstrations and written instructions of all of the techniques covered in the course. 
• Video demonstrations of positive oculomotor findings associated with central and peripheral vestibular disorders. 
• A literature review with a PDF of the references.

A course certificate will be provided at the end of the course, given there has been a passing grade on the tests and a course survey is completed.

If you are a physical therapist from the USA and require CE hours specific for your state, contact Kregg.

The best person to contact is Kregg Ochitwa at:

(E) [email protected]

(T) 306-343-7776

The goal of North 49 is to not only impact the quality of life for the patients we see in our province of Saskatchewan, but support other practitioners in the field of vestibular therapy. 

For more educational opportunities, check out our website by clicking HERE or on the logo at the top of this page.