A study of oculomotor parameters before and after vision therapy

Abstract

Objective To observe the changes in oculomotor parameters after vision therapy and assess the vision therapy effect on relieving the symptoms of asthenopia and improving binocular vision function.Methods In a retrospective case series study,121 asthenopic patients aged 8 to 27 years (average 15.5±5.2 years) were recruited from the Optical Center of Tianjin Eye Hospital.Sixty-two of them were males and 59 were females.All patients had routine eye examinations to exclude eye disease.Personalized vision therapy was performed based on the results of binocular vision examination and refraction with a phoropter.The oculomotor parameters were assessed after 9 weeks' vision therapy.All data were statistically analyzed by a paired samples t test.Results The accommodative amplitude (t=-9.015,P＜0.01),positive relative accommodation (PRA,t=9.569,P＜0.01),negative relative accommodation (NRA,t=-6.719,P＜0.01) and accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A ratio,t=-3.716,P＜0.01) were significantly improved.There was no difference in far exophoria before and after therapy,while near exophoria was significantly reduced (t=-3.716,P＜0.01).There was no difference in accommodative lag after therapy.Conclusion The oculomotor parameters accommodative amplitude,NRA,PRA,near phoria and AC/A ratio improved after reasonable vision therapy.Visual fatigue symptoms were relieved remarkably. Key words: Vision therapy; Binocular vision; Asthenopia