Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
After a concussion, patients may experience a wide spectrum of symptoms, such as blurred
vision or dizziness with head movements as well as difficulty reading and concentrating.
One typical complaint we usually hear from our patients is that they feel foggy or dizzy
when breathing or when looking back and forth between the board of their nose.
One simple test we do here is called the Dynamic Visual Acuity Test. We have a patient read
an eye chart down to the lowest line possible while still being able to read each letter
in that line.
We repeat the test while moving the patient's head, side to side, as they're reading. If
there's a difference of two lines or more between the static and the dynamic tests then
we consider that test abnormal or positive for a functional gaze instability.
For a gaze stabilization exercise, we usually give patients times when viewing. For this
exercise, we give the patients a card with a letter on it and have them put at arm's
distance away and ask the patient to move their heads side to side, or up and down as
quickly as they can, while still keeping the letter clear or in focus.
This exercise usually lasts between 30 seconds and 2 minutes, depending on the patient's
tolerance.