{"id":10731,"date":"2021-04-12T08:14:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T08:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/?page_id=10731"},"modified":"2021-07-14T08:45:30","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T08:45:30","slug":"myopia-and-vision-therapy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia\/myopia-and-vision-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Myopia and Vision Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Vision therapy not only treats lazy eye, eye turn, or learning difficulties, but may also prevent or slow the progression of myopia.<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>While a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia\/should-i-be-worried-about-myopia\/\">cure for myopia<\/a> has yet to be found, vision therapy can help by targeting certain factors that contribute to myopia (short-sighted).<\/p>\n<p>If you think that vision therapy might be able to help you or your child, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>schedule your functional visual evaluation<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SEE RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia\/the-benefits-of-outdoor-play-for-children-with-myopia\/\">The Benefits of Outdoor Play for Children with Myopia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<div class=\"practice-search-widget\">\n\t\t<h3>Find an eye doctor for children near you<\/h3>\n\t\t\n\t<form class=\"practice-search-form practice-search-form-widget\" action=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/results\/\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page\" class=\"practice-search-page\">\n\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_latitude\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"address_longitude\">\n\n\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"address\" class=\"practice-search-address\" placeholder=\"City, Surburb or Address\" value=\"\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"distance\" value=\"100\" class=\"practice-search-distance\">\n\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<button type=\"submit\" class=\"practice-search-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M10.6796 0.130005C9.15708 0.130059 7.66615 0.5646 6.38198 1.38258C5.09781 2.20057 4.07373 3.36803 3.43004 4.74783C2.78634 6.12763 2.54976 7.66246 2.74808 9.17205C2.9464 10.6816 3.57139 12.1033 4.54964 13.27L0.729639 17.08C0.6364 17.1732 0.562439 17.2839 0.511979 17.4058C0.461519 17.5276 0.435547 17.6581 0.435547 17.79C0.435547 17.9219 0.461519 18.0524 0.511979 18.1743C0.562439 18.2961 0.6364 18.4068 0.729639 18.5C0.917942 18.6883 1.17334 18.7941 1.43964 18.7941C1.5715 18.7941 1.70207 18.7681 1.82389 18.7177C1.94571 18.6672 2.0564 18.5932 2.14964 18.5L5.99964 14.62C7.35406 15.6038 8.98566 16.1324 10.6596 16.13C12.7814 16.13 14.8162 15.2871 16.3165 13.7869C17.8168 12.2866 18.6596 10.2517 18.6596 8.13C18.6596 6.00827 17.8168 3.97344 16.3165 2.47315C14.8162 0.97286 12.7814 0.130005 10.6596 0.130005H10.6796ZM10.6796 14.13C9.49295 14.13 8.33291 13.7781 7.34622 13.1188C6.35952 12.4595 5.59049 11.5225 5.13636 10.4261C4.68224 9.32975 4.56342 8.12335 4.79493 6.95946C5.02644 5.79558 5.59788 4.72648 6.437 3.88736C7.27611 3.04825 8.34521 2.4768 9.5091 2.24529C10.673 2.01378 11.8794 2.1326 12.9757 2.58673C14.0721 3.04085 15.0092 3.80989 15.6685 4.79658C16.3277 5.78328 16.6796 6.94332 16.6796 8.13C16.6796 9.7213 16.0475 11.2474 14.9223 12.3726C13.7971 13.4979 12.2709 14.13 10.6796 14.13Z\" fill=\"#fff\"\/><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"practice-search-use-my-location\">\n\t\t\tSearch near me\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\n\t<\/form>\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<h2><b>What is myopia?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, causes distant objects to appear out of focus or blurry.<\/p>\n<p>Myopia occurs when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/general-practice-optometry\/guide-to-myopia-management\/can-your-child-benefit-from-myopia-management\/\">eye grows too long<\/a>, or the cornea and\/or eye lens are too curved relative to the length of the eyeball.<\/p>\n<p>Myopia can be controlled by a process known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia-management\/myopia-management-faqs\/\">Myopia Management<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some signs and symptoms of myopia include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Holding books close to the eyes<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Blurry distance vision<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Reduced clarity of vision, compared to what others can see clearly<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Squinting when reading the board or watching TV<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Sitting at the front of the classroom to clearly see the teacher and board<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Sitting at close proximity to the TV or computer screen<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Disinterest in playing sports that require clear distance vision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you or your child experiences any of these symptoms <b>contact an eye doctor near<\/b> to you.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Facts about vision therapy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Vision therapy is an evidence-based program designed to;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Train the eyes and brain to work as a team<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Develop visual skills like accommodation, convergence, eye tracking, depth perception, teaming, focusing, visual processing and visual memory<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Be a safe and non-invasive set of visual exercises tailored to an individual\u2019s specific needs<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Be fun and involve the use of specialized filters or prisms, balance beams, computerized aids and other therapeutic tools<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Vision Therapy and Myopia<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Vision therapy may not be able to treat or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia\/should-i-be-worried-about-myopia\/\">fully reverse myopia<\/a>; however, some people may benefit from preventing or slowing down the progression of myopia<b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Poor focusing skills have been linked to myopia, so many patients report that their myopia symptoms have improved during or after the vision therapy process.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Some vision therapists found this was a result of strengthening a visual skill called accommodation &#8211; the eyes\u2019 ability to adjust focus as the distance between an individual and object changes.<\/p>\n<p>A spasm of accommodation, also known as \u201cpseudo-myopia,\u201d occurs when the eyes lock their focus on a near object but then have difficulty releasing the focus to view distant objects. The reason this is considered a false myopia is because it involves\u00a0 the focusing mechanism of the lens and not the elongation of the eye, a characteristic of true myopia.<\/p>\n<p>However, pseudo-myopia can be treated with vision therapy, assuming the accommodation spasm was the only culprit for blurry vision at a distance. If that is the case, after a successful vision therapy program, the patient may no longer need to wear prescription lenses for vision correction.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia-management\/myopia-management-faqs\/\">Myopia management<\/a> may be another option to discuss with your optometrist.<\/p>\n<p><b>While the research on this subject is still ongoing, vision therapy may be able to improve a person\u2019s blurry vision in many cases.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>LEARN MORE:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/\">Guide to Pediatric Eye Conditions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you or your child has myopia and you\u2019re curious if vision therapy can help, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/practice-search\/\"><b>schedule a functional visual assessment<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vision therapy not only treats lazy eye, eye turn, or learning difficulties, but may also prevent or slow the progression of myopia. While a cure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10732,"parent":1291,"menu_order":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[132,87,108,156,107,325,112,147,186,90,396,124,101],"class_list":["post-10731","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-acuity","tag-adhd","tag-attention","tag-blurry","tag-concentration","tag-convergence-insufficiency","tag-dyslexia","tag-eye-exam","tag-focusing","tag-myopia","tag-myopia-management","tag-sports","tag-visual-skills"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Myopia and Vision Therapy - Optometrists.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.optometrists.org\/childrens-vision\/guide-to-pediatric-eye-conditions\/what-is-myopia\/myopia-and-vision-therapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Myopia and Vision Therapy - Optometrists.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vision therapy not only treats lazy eye, eye turn, or learning difficulties, but may also prevent or slow the progression of myopia. 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