If you’re struggling with dizziness, you don’t have to deal with it alone. At North 49, our vestibular assessment is designed to identify the cause of your dizziness and provide you with the best treatment options. Here’s what you can expect when you book an assessment with us.
Booking Your Assessment
You can book your vestibular assessment by calling our clinic at 306.343.7776 or scheduling your appointment online at any time. Once your appointment is set, we’ll email you some intake forms to complete before your visit. These forms provide us with general information about your health, any medications you’re taking, and whether you’d like us to communicate with other healthcare providers, such as your family physician. If we do not have your email address, no worries, you can come 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment to fill them out at the clinic.
Arriving at the Clinic
When you arrive, your therapist will walk you to their office. This walk is more than just an introduction—it’s also part of your assessment. We observe how you get out of a chair and how you walk, as this gives us valuable insights into your mobility and balance.
Taking Your History
Once in the office, your therapist will take a detailed history to understand your dizziness. We’ll discuss:
– When your symptoms started.
– What triggers your dizziness.
– How long each episode lasts.
– Any other symptoms you might experience.
A thorough history is crucial because it helps us determine the likely cause of your dizziness and guide the rest of the assessment.
Physical Assessment
After reviewing your history, we move on to the physical assessment. This includes:
- Neck Mobility Testing: Checking how well you can move your neck.
- Oculomotor Testing: Assessing how well your eyes move, looking for signs of involuntary eye motion (nystagmus), and checking your ability to focus on a target while your head is rapidly moved.
Some of these tests will require you to wear a set of infrared goggles. These goggles allow us to see what your eyes are doing in the dark, without visual fixation. This is essential because some forms of nystagmus caused by inner ear issues are only visible when visual fixation is removed (i.e. you cannot see anything).
- Positional Testing: You will be guided through different positions to see if specific positional changes trigger dizziness or abnormal eye motion.
- Balance & Other Testing: Depending on your history and examination, we may also perform other tests to better understand your condition.
Treatment and Next Steps
Based on your history and assessment, we will provide you with an initial treatment plan during your first session. If you have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), we may perform a repositioning maneuver immediately. Other treatment options may include:
- Vestibular Exercises tailored to your needs for daily home practice.
- Education on how diet, stress, and sleep may be influencing your symptoms.
- Collaboration with Other Healthcare Providers to ensure all contributing factors to your dizziness are addressed.
Some patients require only one visit, while others may need follow-up appointments over a series of months. Treatment duration varies depending on the cause of your dizziness.
Don’t Let Dizziness Disrupt Your Life
You don’t have to live with dizziness or manage it on your own. Contact us to set up a Vestibular Assessment, so we can determine the cause of your dizziness and provide effective treatment options.
Call North 49 at 306.343.7776 or book your appointment 24/7 through our online scheduling platform. We look forward to helping you regain stability and confidence in your daily life!