Queenstown Concussion Clinic is an ACC-subsidised concussion service for the Wakatipu area. The service is run by specially trained physiotherapists and was the first service of its kind in the country.

Queenstown Concussion Clinic is well supported in the wider medical community – you may have been recommended to us by your doctor, lakes district hospital A&E, Otago University balance clinic, ACC, a physiotherapist or osteopath or a friend or family member. However you do not need a referral to see us. If you have hit your head give us a call on 03 409 0078. If you want to know more read on….

Who is it for?

We treat adults, adolescents and children, aged seven and older, who have incurred a mild head injury or concussion from sports, motor vehicle accidents, falls or other head trauma. We ask that all our patient are cleared by a medical doctor prior to accessing the service – just to make sure there’s nothing more severe going on?

What is the expectation of recovery?

Every brain is different! Which is why its important to see a health professional that can assess your injury and advise you on your individualised plan for recovery

But these are the typical timeframes for recovery:

  • 70% recover in 14 days
  • 95% recover within 4-6 weeks
  • 5% take longer to recover, but this is often due to other factors and is only a small proportion of cases.

When should I get assessed?

Assessing and educating clients with a concussion is a powerful tool. We know that those who attend treatment in the first five days post-injury dramatically reduce their risk of having prolonged symptoms.

If you are still having symptoms further down the track we still can help and also have links to onwards referrals if needed.

Why should I see a physiotherapist for a head injury?

First of all, it’s good to get a diagnosis! If you come see us at The Studio, we will assess you to see what exactly is going on after your injury. Knowing that is a great start to helping recovery from any injury.

Every plan is different but things that we can help with include:

  • Patient and support person education,
  • Balance retraining,
  • Headache assessment and treatment
  • Vestibular (inner ear) rehabilitation,
  • Vision rehabilitation
  • Cardiovascular testing to allow you to return safely to training as soon as possible
  • Individualised programme for return to sport

How much does it cost?

As the clinic is run by physiotherapists, we charge our standard ACC cost for physiotherapy.

How do I start?

You can be referred from any health care professional or can self-refer. In the case of self-referral, we require a clients’ local doctor or Lakes District Hospital medical clearance prior to their first appointment.

Urgent appointments:

We’re committed to making sure all we can see anyone with a head injury within 72 hours of their injury. Sometimes that means creating an out-of-hours appointment that isn’t visible on our online booking system. If you’re booking an initial appointment and you can’t see any availability online – call us on 03 409 0078 and we’ll make an arrangement for you.

Concussion clinic Queenstown