Traumatic Brain Injury, Concussions, and the Possible Effects on your Vision
As a result of a concussion, the visual pathway from the eyes to the brain may be disrupted. Numerous symptoms may manifest because of this disruption, while some of these symptoms may go away over time, this may not always be the case. These visual symptoms may be resolved through proper intervention such as prescribing glasses with prisms or completing a vision therapy program.
The three most common visual symptoms of concussions are accommodative insufficiency, convergence insufficiency, and oculomotor dysfunction, as explained below. These three symptoms respond very well to vision therapy. Vision therapy exercises are prescribed by an optometrist to improve visual skills without the use of surgery. The number of visits a patient receives is determined by the optometrist which is based on the patient’s visual deficiencies. The therapy occurs in the office and lasts approximately one hour, and is performed 1-2 times per week.
Some of the most common visual side effects of concussions are:
- Headache
- Eyestrain
- Fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Accommodative insufficiency
- Convergence insufficiency
- Light sensitivity
- Double Vision
- Reduced visual processing speed or reaction time
If you have had a concussion in the past, fill out our Persistent Post-Concussive Syndrome on our forms page. Once completed, one of our team members will review the survey and schedule you for a visual efficiency evaluation.