Box 325-5525 West Boulevard - Vancouver BC Canada - V6M 3W6
604.878.8383 - 1.866.780.2233 - info@balanceanddizziness.org

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BADD regularly sponsors informative talks by professionals on topics of interest to members such as:

treatments available
medications
alternative medicine
helpful exercises for vestibular disorders

BADD members have a common bond of understanding. We all know how it feels to cope with a disorder that is not apparent to others but which affects our ability to engage in ordinary everyday activities.

PAST EVENTS

Dr. Mark Carpenter speaking on Recent Advances in Balance Research, September 16, 2009.

Dr Mark address the group

Dr. Carpenter is a Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Health in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of BC. His degrees are in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo. During that time he was a visiting researcher at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland, to study how different neurological disorders influence balance control. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden for over two years before taking his position at UBC.

Dr. Carpenter is developing a research program focused on discovering the physical and psychological factors that contribute to balance problems and falls. Eventually his research will be used to identify physical activities and balance rehabilitation programs that offer the best improvements to balance performance and fall reduction.

In order to recreate the types of environmental conditions that lead to falls in everyday life, Dr. Carpenter is developing a virtual reality system to provide different visual scenes and a unique moving balance platform that can unexpectedly slide and rotate to mimic falling scenarios. He also uses different techniques to assess how sensory information is processed, and how the brain generates appropriate muscle responses and movement strategies to protect against a fall.

Balance Awareness Week - September 2006

St. Paul's Hospital, Hurlburt Auditorium
September 20, 2006

Special panel presentation featuring:

Moderator: David Berner - actor/playwright/broadcaster/motivational speaker/author/activist and man-about-town.
Panel Member 1: Dr. Neil Longridge - Medical Director, VGH Neuro-otology unit, Head of Division of Otolaryngology, UBC
Panel Member 2: Art Mallinson - Neurophysiologist, VGH Neuro-otology unit, who assesses patients with dizziness, imbalance or generalized unsteadiness
Panel Member 3: Susan Rankin - Burnaby Physiotherapist with a special interest in vestibular rehabilitation, who has taken a number of post-graduate courses in this area

Panel Member Background Profiles

DAVID BERNER has been many things to many people: actor, playwright, broadcaster, teacher, social activist and motivational speaker. After 10 years running a Residential Centre for drug addicts, alcoholics and ex-cons, Mr. Berner shifted his energies to show business. Over 30 years, he has compiled a 5 page resume of performances in radio, television, stage and film. He is a regular contributor to local magazines and websites and his first novel is in the hands of a Toronto publisher. Local audiences best know him of course, for his many years as an enormously popular radio talk show host on CKNW Radio.

DR. NEIL LONGRIDGE is an ear, nose and throat specialist with special expertise in diagnosing the patient with dizziness and balance disorders. He is Medical Director of the Neuro-otology unit at Vancouver General Hospital and Head of the Division of Otolaryngology at UBC.

ART MALLINSON is a neurophysiologist in the Neuro-otology unit at VGH, and assesses patients who have (often complex) complaints of dizziness, imbalance or generalized unsteadiness resulting from inner ear disease. Patients are referred to the Unit by specialists and different assessment techniques are used.

Both Dr. Longridge and Art Mallinson have been actively involved in research together for the last 25 years and at present are working on several studies, including the effects of aging on the balance system, workplace injury to the balance system, and development of better techniques of measuring balance in adults as well as children.

SUSAN RANKIN is a physiotherapist with a private practice in Burnaby, where she treats people with vestibular or facial problems or both. In addition to a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy and a Masters in Health Sciences, she began taking post-graduate courses in vestibular rehabilitation in response to many of her facial patients who also had vestibular symptoms. She sees people one on one and is keen on empowering people through knowledge as well as guiding them through appropriate exercises.

Traumatic History and Balance & Dizziness Disorders

St. Paul's Hospital, Hurlburt Auditorium
June 21, 2006

Dr. Philippe A. Souvestre, M.D (France), RRP, RAc, will review possible common and uncommon causes of balance and dizziness disorders. He will discuss the literature and a few typical clinical cases; their correlation with various types of traumas, whether physical, cognitive and/or emotional; the Sensory Motor Controls regulatory system; the Postural Deficiency Syndrome; the distinction between DAMAGE vs. DYSFUNCTION within the central nervous system/brain; successful treatment patterns and success rate for dizziness, unsteadiness, etc.

Dr. Souvestre, founder and Medical Director of the NeuroKinetics® Traumatology and Concussion Clinic located in Vancouver, practiced for 20 years in Traumatology and Aerospace; Sports Medicine and trained in Occupational Medicine. He served 10 years as a Flight Surgeon, Neuroscientist and Flight Experimenter for the French Air Force, French Test Flight Centre and Aerospace industry. His academic and clinical work focuses on post trauma chronic disabilities and particularly that of balance disorders, dizziness, sensory perception disorders, posture and gait issues.

March 2005 meeting featuring Dr. Parmar, Naturpoath

St. Paul's Hospital, Hurlburt Auditorium
March 16, 2005

Dr. Parmar is a featured speaker and resource specialist. He is the medical director of the Fort Integrated Health Clinic in Fort Langley and will be presenting an exciting lecture on the latest advancements in the naturopathic medical approach to balance, dizziness and their related disorders. Dr. Parmar has extensive clinical experience treating these disorders and will be sharing some case studies. Come and learn what complementary and alternative treatments are out there that you should be using. His website is www.integratedhealthclinic.com .

In February 2003, BADD sponsored an introductory information session in Victoria, BC at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, with physiotherapist Lorelei Lew, BSc, MSc providing an introduction on balance and dizziness disorders and their treatment. Her session was supplemented by a slide show presentation and a question and answer period.

At the November 2002 Annual General Meeting of BADD Glynnis Tidball, MSc Audiology (C), St. Paul's Hospital Audiologist held a talk titled "Hyperacusis - is it too loud in here or is it me?"

The 2002 information session was attended by 49 people in July, 2002 where presentations were given by:

Susan Rankin, a physiotherapist in Burnaby specializing in facial and vestibular rehabilitation. She gave an overview of vestibular disorders and what treatments may be useful.

Hans Schmidt, from the Right to Quiet Society speaking on the surprising impact of "noise" on our quality of living and health.