How Vision Therapy Can Improve Concussion-Related Vision Problems
Did your vision change after your concussion? Concussions injure the brain and affect its ability to process the information it receives from the eyes. Fortunately, vision therapy can improve your vision and may also help with other concussion symptoms.
Vision Changes Caused by Concussions
Concussions occur when your brain moves back and forth inside your skull due to sudden, forceful movements. Concussions can happen if an object falls on your head, you hit your head, or you're in a car accident. A blow to the head isn't the only cause of a concussion. Anything that jars or shakes your body could cause your brain to bounce around inside your skull. It's possible to get a concussion riding a roller coaster or another ride that jolts the body and head.
The brain plays an important role in vision. It converts electrical impulses received from the eyes into images, then adds those images to your memory. The brain also coordinates the movements of muscles that move the eyes. Concussions damage tissues and nerves in the brain, making it harder for the brain to process and retain visual information.
If you've noticed that your eyesight isn't quite the same after a concussion, you're not imagining things. Visual problems are a common complaint following concussions. Sixty-nine percent of teens examined during a concussion study published in Clinical Pediatrics in 2015 had at least one vision problem. Forty-six percent of study participants had more than one issue. Vision problems also affect younger children and adults who've had concussions.
Following a concussion, you might notice one or more of these vision-related issues:
- Blurry Vision
- Double Vision
- Tired Eyes
- Sensitivity to Light or Sound
- Trouble Focusing on the Words on a Page or Screen
- Difficulty Maintaining Sharp Vision from Shifting from Near Vision to Far Vision
- Trouble Using Both Eyes Together to Focus or Track Moving Objects
- Fatigue When Reading or Using Screens for a Short Time
- Losing Your Place Easily When Reading
- Short Attention Span
- Difficulty Remembering What You Read
Dizziness, vertigo, headaches, poor coordination, and balance problems can also be caused by visual issues.
Improving Visual Symptoms with Vision Therapy
Your brain may be a little sluggish following a concussion. It may not react immediately to signals from the eyes or struggle to coordinate eye movements. Vision therapy enhances communication between the brain and the eyes, improving concussion-related vision problems.
Vision therapy is tailored to your specific vision problem, but may include:
- Hands-on Activities
- Computer or Virtual Reality Games
- Special Lenses or Prisms
- Visual Aids
Vision therapy offers these benefits:
- Better Eye Teaming. Good vision is impossible if both eyes don't send the same information to the brain. Problems with double vision and focusing may occur if your brain struggles to coordinate eye movements after a concussion. Vision therapy improves eye coordination, helping the eyes move together effortlessly.
- Easier Tracking. Poor tracking skills make it difficult to keep your place when reading or follow moving objects with your eyes. Vision therapy not only improves tracking ability, but also helps your eyes maintain sharp vision when shifting your focus between far and near objects.
- Improved Concentration. It's difficult to focus on a book or screen if your eyes aren't working properly. When concussion-related visual symptoms are improved with vision therapy, you may notice your attention span and concentration improve.
- Reduced Light Sensitivity. Do bright lights hurt your eyes? Vision therapy can decrease light sensitivity by improving contrast sensitivity. Contrast sensitivity is the visual skill you use to separate objects from their backgrounds. Your vision therapist may recommend tinted lenses or filters to reduce light sensitivity while you recover.
- Enhanced Balance. Vision therapy exercises improve coordination between your body, eyes and brain, improving coordination and balance.
- Fewer Headaches and Other Symptoms. Correcting vision issues with vision therapy may decrease headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and fatigue. If you're seeing double after a concussion, experiencing headaches, or notice everything looks blurry, you may have convergence insufficiency. The visual condition occurs when both eyes don't turn inward to the same degree when focusing. Vision therapy successfully treated 85% of people with post-concussion convergence insufficiency in a 2017 research study published in Optometry and Vision Science. The remaining 15% of patients in the study noticed some improvement in their vision after therapy.
Ready to solve your vision-related concussion symptoms? Contact our office to schedule a comprehensive vision exam with the vision therapist.
Sources:
Sage Journals: Clinical Pediatrics: Vision Diagnoses Are Common After Concussion in Adolescents, 7/7/2015
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0009922815594367
NCBI: Optometry and Vision Science: Vision Therapy for Post-Concussion Vision Disorders, 1/2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27505624
American Optometric Association: Concussions
https://www.aoa.org/healthy-eyes/eye-and-vision-conditions/concussions?sso=y
Optometric Vision Development & Rehabilitation Association: Acquired & Traumatic Brain Injury
https://www.covd.org/page/braininjury
National Eye Institute: Convergence Insufficiency, 12/2/2024
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/convergence-insufficiency
