Most people expect headaches, dizziness, or memory trouble after a concussion, but fewer realize how often vision issues are part of the aftermath. Whether it’s struggling to track a moving object or feeling off-balance while walking, these symptoms can linger even after the more obvious signs of injury fade. At The Office of Dr. Lorelei Zeiler, we offer vision therapy in to help realign how your eyes and brain work together during the recovery process.
How Concussions Can Affect Your Vision
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, jolt, or blow to the head. It disrupts normal brain function, and since the brain controls everything from eye movement to depth perception, visual symptoms are common. What makes these symptoms challenging is that they’re often misattributed to fatigue or lingering headaches.
Post-concussion vision problems often include:
- Blurred or double vision
- Trouble reading or concentrating on a screen
- Light sensitivity
- Poor depth perception
- Headaches or eye strain during visual tasks
- Difficulty with balance or motion sensitivity
These issues can occur in both children and adults and may not manifest until days or weeks after the injury. For students, this can mean struggling in the classroom without an apparent reason. For adults, it can interfere with work, driving, and everyday responsibilities.
Why Vision Therapy Works for Concussions
Most concussion recovery plans begin with rest. And while rest is essential, it doesn’t always fix the problem, especially if the root of the issue is a disrupted visual system. That’s where vision therapy comes in.
Rest Alone Can Miss the Mark
Concussion recovery often starts with physical and cognitive rest. This can help with headaches, fatigue, and concentration issues, but when it comes to vision, rest doesn't always reset the brain’s visual pathways. That’s because many of these disruptions aren’t due to eye muscle weakness — they’re caused by how the brain processes what the eyes see. If these pathways don’t realign on their own, symptoms can persist long after the concussion is considered “healed.”
Improve Visual Coordination
Vision therapy zeroes in on how the eyes track, team, and focus. After a concussion, these functions often become out of sync, leading to common symptoms such as blurry vision, difficulty reading, or an increased sensitivity to motion. Through guided in-office exercises and at-home reinforcement, vision therapy helps retrain those pathways, building new routines for the brain and eyes to work together smoothly again.
Rebuild Focus and Processing
One of the most common post-concussion complaints is difficulty concentrating, especially with screen time or reading. Vision therapy strengthens the brain’s ability to filter, organize, and respond to incoming visual information. It doesn’t just help you see clearly — it helps your brain make better sense of what you’re seeing, which can ease headaches and boost focus over time.
Gain Stability and Confidence
Many people report issues with depth perception or balance after a concussion. These problems often stem from delays in visual processing. When your brain struggles to accurately gauge distance or speed, even walking in a crowded hallway can feel overwhelming. Vision therapy addresses this by working on visual-motor integration, which helps restore a person’s spatial awareness and physical confidence.
What to Expect from Vision Therapy at The Office of Dr. Lorelei Zeiler
At The Office of Dr. Lorelei Zeiler, our team offers vision therapy inCaledonia to help patients retrain eye-brain connections disrupted by a concussion. If you’re still experiencing symptoms after the initial injury, vision therapy may be the solution. Here’s what you should know:
- What we do: We begin with a comprehensive visual evaluation that examines not only eyesight but also how your eyes move, focus, and work together.
- Who it helps: Children and adults with lingering symptoms like headaches, dizziness, or trouble reading.
- How therapy works: Weekly sessions and guided at-home exercises that restore balance, tracking, focus, and visual processing.
- What to expect: Personalized care, ongoing progress checks, and therapy adjusted to your recovery speed.
- When to get help: If symptoms like blurred vision, eye strain, or motion sensitivity last more than a couple of weeks, it’s time to book an appointment.
Reclaim Your Visual Confidence with Vision Therapy in The Office of Dr. Lorelei Zeiler, ON
If your visual symptoms haven’t resolved after a concussion, it’s not just frustrating — it’s a sign your brain may still need support. Vision therapy helps restore comfort and clarity by retraining how your eyes and brain work together.
At The Office of Dr. Lorelei Zeiler, we’ve worked with patients across Caledonia who felt stuck in recovery until they found the missing piece in our therapy programs, and we can help you, too. Book your appointment to get started.