BUT GLASSES FIX VISION PROBLEMS RIGHT?
Research has demonstrated vision therapy can be an effective treatment option for, ocular motility dysfunctions (eye movement disorders), Post Trauma Vision Disorder (traumatic brain injury), asthenopia (weakness or easy fatigue of the eye), non-strasbismic binocular disorders (inefficient eye teaming), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), amblyopia (poorly developed vision), accommodative disorders (focusing problems).

Ocular motility dysfunction is defined as an impairment of eye movements as a primary manifestation of the disease. The dysfunction can be further divided into muscle, brain stem, and higher order sensory/motor systems. Ocular motility dysfunction can be observed by involuntary rapid eye movements and unusual head tilting, which can interfere with acquiring, fixating, and tracking visual stimuli. To demonstrate how this system works try the following experiment: Hold your hand up, about one foot in front of your nose. Keep your head still, and shake your hand from side to side, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. At first you will be able to see your fingers quite clearly. But as the frequency of shaking passes about 1 Hz, the fingers will become a blur. Now, keep your hand still and shake your head (up and down or left and right). No matter how fast you shake your head, the image of your fingers remains clear. This demonstrates that the brain can move the eyes opposite to head motion much better than it can follow, or pursue, a hand movement. When your pursuit system fails to keep up with the moving hand, images slip on the retina and you see a blurred hand. Patients with ocular motility dysfunctions commonly experience blurred vision and poor binocular function.

Amblyopia, or lazy-eye, is a disorder characterized by an impaired vision in an eye that otherwise appears normal. In many cases the affected eye is "turned off" by the brain due to a prolonged uncorrected strabismus or a large imbalance of visual acuity. Vision therapists more correctly describe Amblyopia as a visual cortex dysfunction rather than an eye dysfunction. The fact that once established, visual deficits often remain even after normal visual input has been restored using surgery, supports this definition. Unfortunately many patients have been diagnosed too late and the Amblyopic eye is permanently "turned off". However, new research and clinical trials are showing hope for these patients using new vision therapy techniques. Early diagnosis in children and qualified treatment is very important for these patients.

Asthenopia is a weakness or easy fatigue of an eye characterized by pain, headache, blurred vision, and sometimes double vision. It is easily misdiagnosed as "dry eye" and can lead to an ineffective treatment plan. The underlying causes of Asthenopia are usually computer vision syndrome, convergence insufficiency, and vertical imbalance. Vision therapy is often successful in treating Asthenopia.

Traumatic brain injury or Post Trauma Vision Syndrome (which includes concussions) patients have, more recently, been found to be successfully treated by qualified vision therapists. Post Trauma Vision Syndrome is characterized by sensory problems after a traumatic brain injury, specifically blurred, double vision, and visual field defects. Blurred or double vision may improve during the first six months after the trauma event, but the field abnormalities are more likely to persist. The syndrome's symptoms are similar to those found in patients with traditional convergence insufficiencies and accommodation disorder, except in one fundamental way. Post Trauma Vision Syndrome patients' on-set is abrupt and the brain does not have the time to adapt (plasticity function). This sudden on-set leaves persistent symptoms and can lead to abnormal head posture. This happens because patients tilt or hold their head in an unnatural position to try and correct or improve visual function.

Convergence insufficiency is a common condition that is characterized by a patient's inability to maintain proper binocular alignment on objects as they approach from distance to near. The symptoms associated with convergence insufficiency vary from mild to severe; and are often extremely troublesome for patients with the condition. Patients with convergence insufficiency have a high success rate with vision therapy. Dramatic reduction of symptoms or even the disappearance of symptoms is common.

This is Part Two of a four part series on the Vision Therapy Opportunity.

Erich Mack, B.S., ABO, NCLE, is a certified Arizona licensed optician. At Visions Optique, he assists in practice management, training and brings his personal style to everyday opticianry and vision therapy responsibilities as well as creating new CE courses.