Vision therapy programs can improve your visual ability. The program uses eye exercises, occlusion lenses, prisms, and tests to treat visual problems. Vision therapy can treat various conditions like lazy eye, inadequate eye coordination, and poor focus. This article describes five conditions vision therapy can treat.
1. Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
The condition leads to poor vision and is often diagnosed in children. Amblyopia occurs if connections between the brain and eye don’t develop properly. Usually, the connections carry visual information from the eyes to regions of the brain to help people see. Usually, connectors develop in young children. There are various causes of lazy eyes, and doctors detect them through a comprehensive eye exam.
Here are the categories of amblyopia:
Strabismic amblyopia develops when eye turns are present, but the eyes aren’t working together. When both eyes work together, they point ahead for the brain to see the information. If the brain pays attention to a person with strabismus, they’ll see everything in double. The brain favors seeing the eye that fails to turn to avoid seeing double objects. Because the brain is not paying attention to the turning eye, its connection to the brain doesn’t develop well.
The condition occurs when eyes have an unequal glass prescription or refractive power. One vision can be farsighted and the other nearsighted. Since the brain can’t balance these differences in eye prescriptions, it picks the eye easier to see with and prefers to use that eye only. Therefore, the “unused” eye and brain connections don’t develop properly.
In addition to refractive and strabismic, other risk factors like congenital cataracts, eye trauma, eye tumors, and drooping eyelid(ptosis) cause amblyopia.
2. Strabismus (Crossed Eyes)
Strabismus occurs when a person can’t align their eyes simultaneously. Both eyes or one eye can turn up, down, in, or out. The turns of the eyes can be constant or intermittent. The categories of strabismus include;
- Exotropia (eye turning out)
- Hypertropia (eye turning up)
- Esotropia (eye turning in)
The conditions require an appropriate eye exam and treatment.
3. Binocular Dysfunction
Binocular dysfunction occurs as a result of eye teaming problems. The two eyes need to coordinate and be precise to see appropriately with both eyes. When you look at things, each eye sends images to the visual cortex region of the brain. The part combines both objects into one image. If both images are the same, the results are normal. However, if both eyes aren’t performing in coordination, the brain receives two varying images. The different objects cause visual discomfort or double vision. The visual discomfort impacts learning, work performance, and optical clarity.
An eye-teaming problem can include convergence and divergence problems.
4. Focusing Problems
The vision is dynamic, and to see accurately, you have to alternate the focus of your eyes every time you look from one thing to another. Typically, a focus adjustment occurs when you look from one object to another. The ciliary muscle helps with this adjustment. A focussing problem can happen when you cannot accurately and quickly relax the ciliary muscle.
5. Eye Movement (Oculomotor) Dysfunction
Eye movement problems occur when people cannot accurately follow moving objects or shift their eyes quickly from one thing to another. The skills are crucial in athletics and academic optimal performances. The condition can develop over time, and courses of corrective eye-care exercises can treat it. An eye exam diagnoses the condition. The causes of eye movement dysfunction include slow development and central nervous system illnesses.
Vision therapy for concussions is vital in treating post-traumatic symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and poor concentration. The symptoms can occur due to minor brain injury or brain tumors.
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