Vision therapy for myopia

Myopia or commonly known as nearsightedness is a vision problem that affects people all over the world. There are different treatment options for myopia ranging from wearing eyeglasses to surgery. Here we will discuss what is myopia and how can it be treated.

What Is Myopia?

Myopia or nearsightedness is marked by inability to focus on distant objects. Nearsighted people can clearly see near objects while distant objects appear blurred. Myopia affects around 30% of population worldwide and people of all ages suffer from it.

Nearsightedness occurs due to a problem with the length of the eyeball. In people suffering from nearsightedness, the eyeball is longer than the eyeball of people with normal vision, which causes the light rays to band incorrectly into the eye. Instead of focusing directly on the retina, the light-sensitive membrane that lines the eye, light rays are being focused in front of the retina. When light rays focus behind the retina rather than directly on it, different type of vision problem occurs. It is known as farsightedness or hyperopia.

People with family history of myopia have a high risk for developing the condition. It equally affects both women and men and is often diagnosed in childhood. Myopia may get worse with age but usually stops progressing at some point.

Apart from causing distant object to appear blurred and unfocused, myopia can be accompanied with headaches, eyestrain and squinting.

Treatment for Myopia

Treatment for myopia aims to correct the condition with wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses or with surgical operation. What treatment will be used depends on the factors like the patient’s age, overall health and the level of nearsightedness.

The extent of myopia will also determine whether a nearsighted person will have to wear contact lenses or spectacles all the time. For example, in mildly nearsighted people, glasses and contact lenses are required only when there is a need for clear distance vision, such as when driving.

Surgical treatment is also available to treat myopia. Surgery to correct myopia is known as refractive surgery and it is used to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses or contact lenses. Most commonly used procedure for myopia is LASIK.

Vision Therapy for MyopiaVision therapy can also be a part of the treatment for myopia as it can help to improve and strengthen the vision and decrease eye strain. Vision therapy or orthoptics involves eye exercises that must be routinely performed until the symptoms improve. These exercises help nearsighted people to learn focus control, eye coordination, eye movement control and other vision skills.