Vision Therapy

Eyestrain Self Test

We invite you to take this simple self-test.

Check the most appropriate answer.
N= Never, S= Sometimes, O= Often, A= Always

 1. Do you sometimes have blurred vision? N S O A
 2. Do you get tired or fall asleep while reading or using the computer?  N S O A
 3. Do you lose your concentration while reading?  N S O A
 4. Does your vision seem worse at the end of the day?  N S O A
 5. Do you experience double vision?  N S O A
 6. Do you often close one eye while reading?  N S O A
 7. Do your eyes feel tired at the end of the day?  N S O A
 8. Do words seem to "run together" or appear blurry when reading?  N S O A
 9. When reading, do you skip or repeat?  N S O A
 10. When you look up from reading, do objects appeared blurred?  N S O A
 11. Do you sometimes feel your eyes aren't working together?  N S O A
 12. Does prolonged reading or close work give you headaches?  N S O A
 13. Do you ever have car sickness?  N S O A
 14. Is reading in a moving vehicle difficult?  N S O A
 15. Do both of your eyes work equally together?  N S O A
 16. Do you experience eyestrain?  N S O A
 17. Do you lose your place when moving from copy to a screen?  N S O A
 18. Do you hold a book close to your eyes ( 7 to 8 inches )?  N S O A

Even one or two "always" or "often" answers -- or clusters of "sometimes" answers -- may signal that you have an eye muscle problem causing asthenopia --the medical term for eyestrain. Neck or shoulder tension or pain, back pain, and irritability when using a computer can be indirect, visually- related symptoms. Discuss your symptoms with your eye doctor, Using sophisticated equipment, your doctor can measure your binocular vision skills - test for convergence, accommodation, eye alignment and teamwork. If testing indicates irregularities, your eye doctor may recommend a vision therapy program.Vision therapy can retrain your eye muscles to meet the visual demands of your responsibilities. You can have increased pleasure in reading and computer use, and enhanced school or work performance.

Left untreated, Eye Muscle Problems can lead to:

  • Difficulty with, and loss of interest in reading.
  • Fatigue / poor performance on the job and at school.
  • Feeling of frustration with school work that may prevent a child from working up to full potential.

Why do these symptoms Occur?
Near vision tasks require long periods of maintaining constant focus and aiming the eyes without rest. The muscles of the eyes fatigure or undergo changes similar to a cramp, much like your arm muscle would experience, if you had to carry a heavy weight all day.

Our Eye muscles were never designed to work in our high-tech world. Over the last hundred years many things have changed. Today we spend hours reading books, looking at computer screens and performing visual tasks at arms length. The result is constant stress on our finely tuned vision system. Many children and adults have 20/20 eyesight, but still have vision symptoms due to eye muscle fatigue.

These symptoms have nothing to do with visual acuity, (the ability to see and read the eye chart). Even with 20/20 eyesight you may suffer from these symptoms. Since they are caused by eye muscle problems, they can't be solved by glasses alone.

Both children and adults spend so much time reading or working on computers and other up close work today that the problem is increasing. We can't stop the growth of technology, but we can reduce its effect on our vision. And we can use technology to treat the problem for many patients.

West Coast Eye Care Associates will perform tests to determine if you or your child need treatment.

With vision therapy, tired, achy eyes can be a thing of the past. No more daily suffering with headaches and eyestrain! Experience improved performance at school, on the job, and in sports. Your child's renewed interest and enthusiasm for school can lead to better grades.