Vision Therapy
Our eye muscles are like all human muscles that need proper exercise to stay fit and healthy. Accommodation is the eyes’ adjustment ability to maintain focus at all distances by focal change. Close-up work requires a high demand of accommodation, while looking in the distance requires a relaxation of accommodation. The eyes’ focal change is achieved by changes in contraction of the eyes' ciliary muscles. Therefore, good vision depends on the eye muscles. The ciliary muscle changes the shape of the lens of the eye causing objects to come into focus. Six other muscles surrounding eye control all ocular movements including the shape (length) of the eyeball. These muscles could decrease in strength as a result of stress, poor nutrition, or the aging process. Sustained close-up focusing activities, including reading, using computers, and watching TV, overload the visual system and stress the muscles responsible for focusing, thus, result in vision problems.
Eye exercises and vision therapy can strengthen eye muscles, relieve eyestrains, enhance focus ability, and thus improve blurred vision. The conditions of myopia (nearsightedness), presbyopia/hyperopia (farsightedness) can all be reduced and improved using eye exercises and vision therapy.
Eyeglasses and contact lenses may correct your vision problems, but they only provide a "crutch" to compensate for vision problems and can create dependency. For children, the glasses may allow the eyes to adjust and adapt to the new visual environment, which can further increase myopia.
Vision Training and Exercise can help achieve the following:
▪ Detecting and correcting "hidden" vision problems
▪ Overcoming reading and learning difficulties (adults and children)
▪ Integrating your right and left brain
▪ Increasing sports performance and eye/hand/body coordination
▪ Enhancing your visualization ability
▪ Correcting computer eye strain and vision problems
Visual behavior can be partially defined as how the eyes reach (move and focus), grasp (converge and sustain), and finally, release the object of regard. Are the eye movements full, smooth, rhythmic and flowing or are they jerky, spastic or erratic? Do both eyes focus in the same place or are they in two different places, confusing the brain? Do the eyes compulsively grasp too tightly, turn in too much, and overly narrow one’s attention? Or do the eyes want to let go (give up and wander), making it difficult to start a new activity or stay on task. Slow focusing, jerky eyes reflect a mind that is out of synchrony. Smooth, fast, integrated, and flexible eyes reflect a well-balanced mind ready to act appropriately and swiftly. We offer in-office Vision Therapy, home exercises, and a combination of both. All ages can benefit from Vision Therapy, from very young children to senior citizens.
In Vision Therapy, individually designed exercises are prescribed for each patient by Dr. Chen. You learn to retrain your eye movement patterns, develop stronger focusing skills, improve eye teaming, and better coordinate the eye-brain-body connection. Perception, visualization, and multi-sensory integration are enhanced. Seeing, thinking, hearing, feeling, and movement are synchronized. Vision Therapy helps people overcome reading, learning, and attentional disorders. It helps people conquer dyslexia, poor handwriting, memory problems, clumsiness, poor sports performance, vertigo, motion sickness, balance and coordination problems, confusion, disorientation, lack of confidence, and poor self-esteem.
Why is it important to do vision therapy?
Makes your eyes stronger
Improves reaction time
Stimulates healing
Deepens self-understanding
Enhances eye tracking and performance in every day life