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Blurred vision and dry eyes, consulted with an ophthalmologist, but there is no abnormal finding but the symptoms still persist. What is the cause?
Ms. Keung, 44 years old with right eye blurred vision and a dry eye for 6 months and she had redness and she felt tire all the time. Ms. Jiang has seen two ophthalmologists who have performed eye examinations. No abnormal finding in her eyes, the doctor explained that it might be related to her work related stress and prescribed her eye drops however the degree of blurred vision seemed to be getting worse. Recently, she noticed some skin redness around the wrists and the lower arms. The redness is on the surface of the skin and she does not feel pain or burning. Miss Jiang came to see me in April and I performed a muscle test, a nerve reflex test and neck range of motion. Although the patient has some neck problems, but her eye symptoms might have nothing to do with her neck. It may be a problem with the optic nerve. After the consultation, a MRI scan of her brain and cervical spine is ordered. A benign brain tumor was found in her brain that pressing on the optic nerve (see Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3) and this was the finding for her blurred vision. Later, she was referred to a neurosurgeon for a brain surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery, Miss Keung gradually recovered her vision.
Pic 1, 2 and 3 showing MRI view of brain tumor compressing the optic nerve
neck stretching exercises during work, help to relief neck tension
Subluxation of the cervical spine can cause blurred vision
Cervical spondylosis not only causes symptoms on the neck, upper limbs, back or both hands, but it could affects vision when the cervical spine compresses the nerve root. There are many spine research literature that point out that the C2 nerve can indirectly affecting the optic nerve function that cause visual impairment. Vision symptoms caused by cervical spondylosis include:
（1) The patient has double vision but the double vision often reduces or disappears when looking at the object with one eye.
(2) The vision suddenly change when the patient’s cervical spine rotates left and right. It usually lasts for a few seconds to several minutes, and then the vision recover.
(3) False myopia, reduced vision, blurred vision when looking at things.
(4) Symptoms related to cervical spondylosis present with neck stiffness, pain, shoulder pain and hand numbness.
Patients with cervical spondylosis should do more neck stretching exercises and reduce prolong sitting during work, which may easily cause neck strain. Remember to take a rest and perform neck exercises so as to prevent muscle strain.
Chiropractors are fully accredited with medical education and training
Ms. Keung’s case was a benign brain tumor pressing on the right optic nerve which caused her blurred vision. If patient’s cervical spine is misaligned, chiropractor will correct the misalignment for the patient. After the correction, the patient’s visual ability can usually be improved. But of course need to diagnosis the patient’s pathology before formulating a treatment plan. Readers may be wondering why Miss Keung would consult a chiropractor when she felt unwell. The author would like to explain here that chiropractors are also a primary care physician. Many people think that chiropractors are alternative healthcare, or chiropractors are doing physical therapy or massage! In fact, the medical education and training of a chiropractor is enough to equip us with medical academic qualifications to find out the pathological problems of the patients. Chiropractors can diagnose, treat patients, and refer patients to other specialists when needed.
