This article goes into what may be the cause behind that discomfort. An underlying vision problem can be treated and help you enjoy working at the office or spending hours behind a good book.
When we have a healthy and well-coordinated visual system, we're able to read and concentrate for long periods without undergoing any headaches, dizziness, or strain. While certain environments can be detrimental to our ability to concentrate, whether it's loud noises or poor lighting, we should be able to do a lot of work during the day.
But when our visual system fails to function at a normal level, it leads to problems in everyday life. Neck pain or joint pain can be a result of our inability to cope with a visual problem. We may not notice that tilting our head to see better is leading to neck pain over time. Our poor balance or gait can be due to an inability to see as we should. This is when a functional visual evaluation can really make a difference.
A few examples of an underlying visual problem can be:
- A very subtle vertical eye imbalance (one eye wants to aim higher than the other) can play havoc with eye strain and fatigue
- Convergence excess (eyes want to over aim)
- Convergence insufficiency (difficulty aiming eyes inward to read)
- Difficulties making accurate eye movements
- Inability to sustain focus while reading
A couple examples of treatments include:
Yoked prisms can be used to bring immediate relief to severe visual symptoms such as dizziness or balance issues as well as assist with eye movement accuracy.
Another example is treating a vertical eye imbalance using syntonic light therapy. A particular combination of two specific blue colors (frequencies) influences eye muscle balance and is connected with nerves/muscles in our neck, back and hamstrings! We've seen success rates in over 80% of our patients with vertical imbalances through light therapy.
How does light therapy work?
Our bodies are naturally in tune with light. For example, babies with bilirubin are treated by putting a light on their skin to help the liver clear bilirubin. When our eyes are not in tune with each other, certain wavelengths or frequencies of light can treat the problem. The light naturally trains the brain and the eyes to work together to eventually fix the vertical misalignment. In this type of case, we often see results within six to eight weeks.
If you've suffered from discomfort or eye fatigue, come to our practice for a functional visual exam to see if our therapies are right for you.