October 21, 2021 - EyeClarity Blog
If you or a loved one has had a head injury that may have resulted in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), don’t ignore it, or overlook any symptoms — including those affecting the eyes. Sometimes these symptoms don’t happen right away, making it all the more critical to be proactive.
In the United States, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI each year(1), with about 75 percent of them a result of concussions or other forms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI)(2). One study of 100 adolescents who had suffered concussions, found that about 70% of them had subsequent vision problems.3
What happens after the head injury, is that the eye-brain- body remains in the flight/flight/freeze mode from the traumatic event, causing:
- tunneling in vision
- double vision
- eye pain
- blurred vision
- headaches
- poor focus
- sensitivity to light
- reduced peripheral vision
- memory and attention problems
- mental fogginess
- dementia-like symptoms
- depression
So it goes without saying that just the visual effects of TBI in and of themselves have dramatic, negative effects on everyday quality of life. Experts confirm that “visual impairment negatively impacts independence in mobility and activities of daily living.”
Everything you or your loved one had so easily taken for granted, suddenly becomes impaired or impossible. Vision loss is not unheard of in some of these cases. That’s why it is crucial to get seen by a qualified eye doctor sooner than later.
Vision issues after TBI can be hard to diagnose because you could have your sight test result in 20/20, for example, but sight is not the same as vision. Vision is responsible for tracking, focusing, depth perception, information processing, orientation, spatial decision-making, and problem-solving. Sight is merely a component of total vision. Behaviorally if you have the following, for instance you have a visually-related traumatic brain injury:
- skipping words on a page?
- having to cover one eye to see fully?
- losing place while reading?
- experiencing double vision?
- displaying other unusual symptoms?
Vertigo is one of the top complaints following TBI. (See my video blogs on Vertigo Link: https://www.drsamberne.com/what-is-vertigo/ )
Clinically, vertigo is when the vestibular system is shut off (this is your internal “GPS” for balancing). The sensation of motion sickness, spinning, involuntary feelings of movement or imbalance can be so disorientating that it commonly causes severe nausea and sometimes even vomiting. Vertigo is an inner ear affliction; one that also causes significant hearing disorders ranging from tinnitus (ringing in the ear) to hearing loss. These conditions are very stressful for patients, who often feel helpless as to what to do. So they may spend much of the time lying down or sleeping; when we know that certain routine, healthy movements and activities are critical to healing.
Fortunately, the brain has an incredible ability to rejuvenate and create new pathways. But rehab should be gentle, slow paced and integrated. It starts with self-regulation (how to process the reaction to the trauma). For instance, my approach to therapy re-educates the eyes and helps the brain to overcome the trauma. I focus on methods that embrace the interdisciplinary practices of:
- prisms/color therapy
- vision therapy
- vestibular stimulation
- craniosacral techniques
- eye patch work
- acupuncture
- guided eye massage
- breath work
- fluid body movement/continuum
- nutrition support
- sound healing
- aromatherapy
Yes — feast your eyes on this — making improvements in your eating and drinking lifestyle have a direct impact on dramatically improving your eyesight (so you’ll not just look better, you’ll SEE better!) I started honing this integrated approach decades ago, when it was little heard of. So while I was first breaking ground in this area, the conventional medical community were skeptical, until I got the nod from some of the east coast hospitals and published a study on TBI and Vision in the Journal of Optometric Vision Development (1990)
Within a matter of a few short months, patients previously given up on by attending practitioners were healed, functional, driving again, and so on. We overcame many obstacles. Since then, I’ve spent decades specializing in this practice, helping countless people around and beyond the U.S.
Let’s take a closer look at peripheral vision. This is more than just seeing fully all around us: it is our intuitive, creative vision. It grounds us within our body-self and the world around us. With brain injury, the peripheral and central vision stop working together. My view is that, by focusing on the whole body (reconnecting with body awareness),peripheral vision can open up more freely. When I help TBI patients to extend their peripheral vision, they return to a balanced self. Depth of perception improves, and not only vision – but the vestibular system and memory– begin to get better.
I like to approach the TBI issue with a form of physical therapy for the eyes that includes the nervous system re-patterning called the primitive survival reflexes, and visually-guided movements that are more spiral. I also use special yoked prisms which can expand the peripheral vision in areas where there is vision loss. My approach is to: “get people to utilize more of the vision that they inherently have but are not using.”
Naturally, always avoid situations that may cause Traumatic Brain Injury. Wear a helmet when you are biking or driving your motor cycle, if you do suffer a concussion, include vision therapy into your rehabilitation. But in the event that you or someone you know is confronting this issue, be sure to act swiftly with a focused and holistic full-on protocol.
- Faul M, Xu L, Wald MM, Coronado VG. Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002–2006. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2010.
- Report to Congress on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Steps to Prevent a Serious Public Health Problem. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2003. “TBI: Get the Facts” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed
- Master CL, Scheiman, M, Galloway, M,Goodman, Vision Diagnoses Are Common After Concussion in Adolescents, Clinical Pediatrics of Philadelphia, March 2016.