Blurry Eyes and Text Neck – What’s the Connection?
Blurry eyes, dizziness and headaches are signs that your brain is not functioning properly. Your neck health could be the problem. Clear Chiropractic is an specialist practice in Spokane, Washington that is a natural alternative for helping people with neuromuscular disorders associated with the upper cervical spine.
Blurry eyes is NOT always a simple matter of getting your eyes checked. Especially if you get blurry eyes the longer you read or stare at a computer screen, the problem could be coming from your neck!
The hallmark sign that it is your neck – not your eyes – is that you feel better when you lie down.
And this is not just a theoretical statement.
In this article, I will share my personal story that I was learning glasses for five years for blurry eyes. However, when I got my neck properly treated, my vision improved that I don’t wear glasses anymore.
Head position and blurry eyes
Blurry eyes and eye strain are two common symptoms that mean you should probably gets your eyes checked by an optometrist. Corrective lenses or a change in your prescription often solve the problem.
For many people, however, the problem persists. The reason can be more complex. Let me explain.
The top two vertebrae in your neck (C1 and C2) have a profound impact on your brain health. Indeed, your eyes are the window to the soul, and are actually direct extensions of your brain. What you may find odd is that the visual processes centers in your brain are actually located at the back of your skull (occipital lobe).
This area of your brain receives blood supply through a pair of arteries that actually course directly through the C1 and C2 vertebrae in your neck.
Moreover, when you are in an upright position, there are a pair of veins that drain blood from the back of your skull back toward your heart. These veins are part of an extensive plexus that are also found in the exact same area at the base of your skull in your upper neck.
The problem if either of these vertebrae are locked in an abnormal position (which is amplified when you stick your head forward when reading or staring at a computer screen), they can affect circulation and flow.
As a consequence, fluid can accumulate in this area, which leads to a variety of symptoms:
My story
I have an astigmatism in my right eye. This means that the shape of the lens is slightly different than on the left side. Now, this is a condition I would have had pretty much all my life. However, when I turned 30, I started getting headaches, dizziness and blurry eyes.
Up to this point, my brain had been able to accommodate for the asymmetry, However, things just got to the point where my brain wasn’t able to compensate for the asymmetry any more.
I did have my eyes checked and was recommended prescription glasses. Indeed, they did make a difference! However, many of my symptoms persisted. Even with the glasses, I still experienced blurry vision the longer I worked on a computer.
When I got my neck adjusted, my blurry eyes improved!
A long story short, it took me 10 years to figure out exactly what the problem was: I had a specific misalignment of the C1 vertebra in my neck. I’d suspected this was the problem for a long time, but even as a chiropractor, a chiropractor can’t adjust themself. And even if it was for only a moment, when I put pressure of the tip of the vertebra at the side of my neck, my vision would improve.
When I finally got the adjustment I needed, I was still wearing my glasses. However, I forget them one day before going to work. I feared I was going to feel dreadful by the end of the day. However, I was remarkably surprised that even by the end of the day I could still see clearly!
I didn’t wear my glasses the next day either. Or the day after that. Or the day after that.
It’s been a year now, and even though I still have the astigmatism, when my neck is properly aligned and moving, my vision works without needing to rely on the glasses.
So I can attest PERSONALLY (not just academically) that your neck alignment absolutely has an impact on blurry eyes.
A different treatment to help with blurry eyes
When you have blurry eyes, its always important to see your optometrist. However, it’s also important to make sure that your neck is also alignment and moving properly. The two are absolutely connected!
It’s all about brain health.
The particular misalignment I had in my neck was of the top (C1) vertebra. It had misaligned forward on the left side, which is a very different type of misalignment that is usually addressed with common therapies including general chiropractic, massage or physical therapy.
That is the upper cervical care difference with the Blair procedure. The Blair technique uses a series of precise diagnostic tests (including DAX-rays or CBCT scans) to identify the exact degree of misalignment in the neck. The procedure then uses a gentle and precise correction to restore the normal movement of the vertebrae in the neck. The purpose is to restore normal function of your brain.
In this way, the Blair procedure is not a treatment for the symptoms of blurry eyes per se. It is a natural approach that facilitates the normal healing forces of of your body.
Even if you have tried general chiropractic, the Blair procedure is different. There is no drugs, surgery, twisting, stretching or neck cracking.
If you are looking for a chiropractor in Spokane, visit our home page more information. To schedule a new patient appointment with our Mead (north Spokane) or South Hill offices, complete a new patient request form here or call us direct at 509-315-8166.
