Vision Training for Myopia Control

Some myopia progression is caused by an “overactive” focus system of the eye. The focus system can go into spasm, resulting in a condition known as “pseudomyopia”. When glasses are prescribed for distance viewing, these children often become lifetime glasses wearers and the myopia continues to progress until appropriate diagnosis and therapeutic intervention applied. This intervention is usually in the form of bifocal or multifocal eyeglasses and/or vision therapy. Our doctors spend time evaluating if your child’s diagnosis might be aided by this therapy, other therapies or a combination of therapies to help manage the progression of their myopia.

To view objects at distance (greater than 20 feet or 6 meters), the visual system causes the focus mechanism to un-focus or relax. When looking at near, the vision system causes the lens of the eye to accommodate to focus on a near point. This accommodation is achieved by increasing the convexity of the lens of the eye. Accommodation is the process of moving the distance point of focus on the retina to the near point of focus by increasing or decreasing the convexity of the lens of the eye. To look at it in a different light (no pun intended) accommodation is the process of moving a distance point of focus to a near point of focus by increasing convexity of the lens.

Spasm of accommodation, or pseudo-myopia occurs when the convexity of the lens of the eye increased during near focus (reading, hand-held video games) “locks in” and won’t release again to view distance objects clearly. An example of “locking in” is seen in college students. Many patients in the late 20′s and early 30′s report having had perfect vision until sometime during or immediately after their college years. The first change they note in vision was blur at distance after reading, studying or hours of computer work. They report looking up from a book after a study session, then blinking a few times or squinting to see far away again. There far away vision gradually returned, but slower and slower until the distance vision was slightly blurry permanently.

Some studies have shown vision training to be an effective method of progressive myopia control when spasm of accommodation was diagnosed. For more information on vision training as a method of myopia control, visit the myopia doctor directory and contact an eye myopia specialist near you..