Vision therapy for vergence and accommodation

A new case report was published in the latest issue of the Journal Optometry & Visual Performance, which supports the effectiveness of in-office vision therapy for the treatment of vergence and accommodation dysfunctions.

Vergence is the simultaneous movement of both eyes in opposite directions to obtain or maintain single binocular vision.

Accommodation  is the process by which the eye changes its focusing power to maintain a clear focus on an object as its distance from the eye varies.

The case report discussed a patient who was 10-years and 10 months old and underwent 16 visits for vision-based therapy along with home reinforcement (vision therapy homework). The authors used several methods to measure accomodation and vergence before and after therapy, including the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS), near point of convergence (NPC), positive fusional vergence range at near (PFV), accommodative amplitude, and accommodative facility. The measures taken showed decreased symptom severity following therapy.

The in-office vision therapy program used in the study was identical to that used in the well known Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial studies and produced measurable changes in vergence and accommodation in the case subject, who also had convergence insufficiency.

The results not only demonstrate the efficacy of vision therapy but also provide an illustration of the plasticity of the oculomotor system, which is not fully developed at 10 years of age and responds well to interventions like vision therapy.

Source

Optometry & Visual Performance
Objective Assessment of Vergence and Accommodation After Vision Therapy for Convergence Insufficiency in a Child: A Case Report Optometry and visual performance 2014 Feb 04;2(1)7-12, M Scheiman, KJ Ciuffreda, P Thiagarajan, B Tannen, DP Ludlam

Vision problems after car accident are caused by brain injury - effective treatment available even 11 years later

A case study on the effects of vision therapy even 11 years after a car accident that caused a brain injury and resulting vision problems was presented in the journal Optometry and Vision Science. The study shows that accident victims that have suffered brain injuries experience a decreased quality of life when vision problems result and persist for years and, in this case, over a decade.  It also shows that treatment with vision therapy is probably never too late and can be a great benefit to the patient.

The subject of the case study is a 28-year-old Caucasian male who was evaluated for vision problems that started after he acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during a car accident 11 years previously. According to the study the patient  had "numerous symptoms including reading difficulties, ocular pain, headaches, and difficulties with depth perception. The evaluation revealed binocular vision, accommodative, and oculomotor dysfunctions, as well as reduced peripheral visual awareness and visualization anomalies."  The patient was treated with weekly office-based optometric vision therapy (OVT), home-based syntonics, primitive reflex integration, and single vision lenses with base-in prism.  

At both a 1-month post OVT progress evaluation and by a telephone follow up 15 months post-OVT,
the patient reported significant improvement in symptoms.

To find a doctor near you who can can treat the vision problems that result form brain injuries visit the website of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development here.


Here is some information from the case study on brain injuries and the vision problems that can result: