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Concussion Vision Therapy in Calgary

Suffering a concussion or traumatic brain injury can have far-reaching effects beyond just physical symptoms.

One often overlooked aspect is the impact on the visual system.

Up to 90% of concussion and acquired brain injury patients experience some form of vision problems after their injury.

These visual impairments can range from mild to severe and can significantly impact daily life activities.

Do you suffer from post-concussion vision problems?

Vision Problems After Concussion

Light & Visual Sensitivity

One of the most common symptoms post-concussion is photophobia or light sensitivity. This can make being in bright environments unbearable.

Visual hallucinations like seeing stars or flashes of light may also occur as post concussion symptoms.

Visual
Hallucination

While less common, some brain injury patients experience visual hallucinations like seeing flashing lights or distortions.

This is thought to be due to overstimulation or misfiring neural pathways in the visual cortex.

Eye Focusing

Problems with accommodation (switching focus between distances) are prevalent post-concussion. This can contribute to blurred vision, eye strain experience blurred vision, and headaches.

Lens therapy using plus and minus lenses, pencil push-up activities, and brock string work can retrain the focusing system.

Eye
Tracking

Smooth and accurate eye tracking is critical for reading, sports, driving and more. Concussions can disrupt the neural controls for these smooth pursuits.

Treatment involves, Eye-tracking activities, Visual-motor retraining, and Saccadic eye movement drills.

Eye
Teaming

Convergence insufficiency (Eye Teaming) is a common binocular vision problem after concussion or brain injuries. This is when the eyes struggle to maintain proper eye teaming or alignment when focusing on a near object.

Treatment Approaches and proper Vision Therapy. Retraining the eye movement and focusing systems with the use of prism lenses can help rework the eyes into proper alignment.

Visual Perceptual
Processing

Disrupted visual information processing impacts how we make sense of what we see. This can impair spatial skills, form perception, visual memory and visual-motor integration.

Working on integrating the cognitive and visual skills is key through the specialized treatments conducted by a professional vision therapist.

Hemianopsia

Visual field cuts (hemianopsia) can occur when there is impaired peripheral vision in one half of the visual field. This is caused by injury to the optic nerve or visual cortex.

Vision therapy techniques including prism lenses, and compensatory scanning strategies can help address Hemianopsia.

Do you suffer from post-concussion vision problems?

Up to 50% of patients report light sensitivity after concussion that can last weeks or years if untreated.

What is neuro-optometric vision rehabilitation?

Neuro-optometric vision rehabilitation involves targeted therapeutic techniques to improve overall visual function after brain injury or neurological insult. It is a comprehensive vision therapy program customized to each patient's specific needs and deficits. Treatment combines techniques like:

Professional vision therapy to retrain the visual system
Prescription therapeutic lenses (with specialized tints, prisms etc.)
Cognitive retraining for visual perceptual skills
Occupational therapy for visual-motor coordination

The goal is addressing the root causes of visual dysfunctions rather than just managing symptoms.

How Can Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Help?

Treatment offers several key benefits:

comprehensive diagnosis of visual deficits
customized therapy tackling the root causes of visual problems
harnessing neuroplasticity to rewire the visual brain

A multi-disciplinary approach involving vision therapy, neuro-ophthalmology, occupational therapy and more can work to rehabilitate vision functions and prevent long-term issues.

Post Concussion Brain Injury Vision Therapy
at Easy Optometry Optometry

At Easy Optometry, we offer comprehensive concussion vision therapy programs. Our team has extensive training in neuro-optometric rehabilitation and visual therapy techniques.

We evaluate over 17 different visual skills. This guides our customized vision therapy plans with may include:

In-office vision treatments
Home reinforcement exercises
Prescription therapeutic lenses (with prisms, filters etc.)
Visual-motor and cognitive retraining

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes concussion vision problems?

A concussion or traumatic brain injury can disrupt the neural pathways and functioning of the complex visual system. This can impact accommodation, eye movements, visual processing and more - leading to vision problems.

How long do concussion vision symptoms last?

For some, concussion-related vision issues resolve within weeks. However, many experience persistent symptoms lasting months or years without proper treatment through neuro-optometric vision rehabilitation.

Can vision therapy help double vision after concussion?

Yes, one of the most common uses of vision therapy is treating binocular vision problems like double vision (diplopia) after brain injury. Specialized physical therapy, eye teaming and tracking activities can retrain the eyes to work together properly.

Is vision therapy effective for post-concussion light sensitivity?

Light sensitivity is a prevalent issue post-concussion that vision therapy can help manage. Neuro-optometric rehabilitation incorporates techniques like specialized tinted lenses, vision retraining and desensitization to bright light.