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Parkwood patients benefit from new vision therapy
Brain injury and stroke patients in the rehabilitation program at St. Joseph's Parkwood Hospital in London are benefiting from an innovative new approach to therapy called neuro-optometric rehabilitation. Prior to the innovative therapy, therapists and patients were frustrated by stubborn problems with balance and coordination that defied traditional therapy approaches. But when physiotherapist Shannon McGuire learned the root of these problems may be related to vision complications, she was determined to implement neuro-optometric rehabilitation at Parkwood. A brain injury or stroke can disrupt the visual process, interfering with the flow and processing of information that results in vision problems such as blurred or double vision, reading or comprehension difficulties, or loss of visual field. Neuro-optometrists treat these problems with lenses, prisms and vision therapy. McGuire connected with London optometrist Dr. Cheryl Letheren, one of only four registered NORA (neuro-optometric rehabilitation association) optometrists in Canada, to incorporate neuro-optometric rehabilitation into Parkwood's programs. It is the only hospital-based neuro-optometric program in Canada. "We take a very collaborative approach to patients' therapy," said Letheren. "The physiotherapists and occupational therapists provide me with clues to the patient's issues in gait and reading and then I collaborate with them to stabilize the vision disturbances that are impairing the patient's rehabilitation." Vision rehab follows two streams: visual midline shift, when a patient's perception of where their middle is becomes distorted and leads to balance problems, is treated with prisms to normalize how they move through space; post-trauma vision syndrome, when a patient finds it too exhausting to walk through a busy space or to read, is also treated with prisms. Often people who experience a stroke or brain injury don't seek advice for their visual problems; they just feel it's something they need to cope with. The Parkwood Hospital rehabilitation team is embracing the new treatment for these problems. "The patient outcomes are very rewarding," said McGuire. |
| This is so interesting... I had a severe brain injury 24 years ago (I still have lead shot embedded in my brain) and when I had my vision tested I was told I had holes in my fields? I was blind for a little while after my coma. I have had balance and co-ordination problems throughout, although ten years ago I was in pretty good shape. I had a car accident at the end of 2006 and my balance and co-ordination is quite a bit worse. Perhaps as a coincidence my vision has worsened too? You would be hard put to quickly detect any disabilities - if I say so myself, I have worked very hard. The 2006 setback really sucks. Might this be helpful? I have also started a website called www.ReBuildingYou.com to make this kind of information - and more - available to every trauma patient. I would like to arrange mutual linking with Parkwood? I posted here as there may well be others who would love to read this question and your possible reply... Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. Julie |
| By: Julie from ReBuildingYou on 06/14/2008 |
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