Do you feel your work performance is impacted by tiredness, headaches or eye strain?
Vision therapy may just be the solution you have been searching for.
What is vision therapy?
Vision therapy is an effective customized program that improves vision skills to achieve clearer and more comfortable vision.
Vision therapy can be effective for adults too!
Through a series of progressive therapeutic eye exercises, patients improve their visual skills by enhancing the communication between their eyes and brain.
Vision therapy is designed as an individual and personalized treatment program, often used in conjunction with eyeglasses or eye surgery.
If you are experiencing fatigue or eye strain at work, an eye doctor experienced in vision therapy will be able to conduct an functional eye exam and provide you with a range of solutions.
SEE RELATED: What is Computer Vision Syndrome?
What visual conditions does vision therapy treat?
Vision therapy can help treat a variety of eye conditions. Even if you have been told you have ‘dyslexia’, vision therapy could be the solution you are seeking.
However, convergence insufficiency (the eyes’ inability to work together as a team) has been found to be a major cause of eye strain and fatigue, resulting in poor work performance.
How does convergence insufficiency affect my vision?
Convergence insufficiency (CI) affects near vision and eye muscle coordination.
Convergence of the eyes occurs when the two eyes need to focus on a close object, such as a computer, book, or smartphone. Convergence insufficiency means the eyes struggle to focus for near tasks, affecting work performance and many other aspects of life.
As the eyes struggle to focus, they experience eye strain and fatigue.
Why do adults develop convergence insufficiency (CI)?
An increase in visual demands, such as starting a new job that involves hours of computer work, can be a reason why adults develop CI.
Convergence Insufficiency can impact performance at work and lead to feelings of frustration and stress.
In some cases, CI symptoms can appear during stressful time periods, such as working overtime, or after the loss of a job.
While vision problems that develop as a result of stress are usually temporary, they can be quite uncomfortable and lead to an increase in stress levels.
How does vision therapy treat adults with CI?
Vision therapy is the most effective treatment for CI.
Standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medications, and surgery will not be effective in treating this condition.
A multisite randomized clinical trial by the National Eye Institute showed that the best treatment for CI is supervised vision therapy in a clinical office with home reinforcement, 15 minutes of prescribed vision exercises done at home five days per week.
To decrease some of the symptoms of CI your eye doctor may also prescribe prismatic (prism) eyeglasses. These are not meant to treat or cure the condition, but rather relieve the symptoms.
In many cases, prisms are prescribed in combination with vision therapy.
Vision therapy focuses on training the eyes to work together to improve your focusing, 3-D vision, depth perception, and binocular vision.
LEARN MORE: Guide to Vision Therapy for Adults
If you are concerned about eye strain or fatigue, an eye doctor near you may be the answer you are looking for.
Vision problems associated with convergence insufficiency can be effectively treated with proper optometric care, including vision therapy.
