When any of the body's organs are out of balance, the effects can have a negative impact on your visual acuity and overall eye functioning. As a result, visual impairments can be an early indication of many other health conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, thyroid disease, and even cancer or tumors. In turn, health conditions can cause vision and eye health to deteriorate over time, over and above regular age-related degeneration.

There are many healthy habits you can adopt to protect your vision. A healthy diet, exercise, wearing protective eyewear and sunglasses while outdoors, and avoiding smoking are all steps you can take to prevent eye issues as you age. In addition to these lifelong practices, acupuncture can make a significant difference in both healing and preventing vision impairments and defects.

Can acupuncture improve my eyesight?

Visual acuity refers to the measurement of how well you can see. It is the number that “20/20 vision" refers to when someone has ideal visual functioning and what the doctor is scoring during an eye exam when they have you read a series of progressively smaller rows of letters from a chart.

By stimulating blood flow and circulation to the eyes, acupuncture can improve your visual acuity, allowing you to see better. Acupuncture can relieve short-term swollen, red, or itchy eyes. It can also alleviate other symptoms such as dry eyes, excessive tearing, and reduced sensitivity to light.

Rather than over-relying on chemical products, acupuncture triggers the body's natural healing processes to improve your eyesight. Acupuncture works by inserting tiny needles into specific points on the body, releasing the flow of energy and blood.

For eye-related treatments, acupuncture points are typically located above the eyebrows on the low forehead and just under the eyes. The treatment is safe and painless, though it may take several treatments for noticeable effects to be felt.

Does acupuncture treat visual defects?

Visual defects can result from aging, injury, underlying health conditions, and other factors. In addition to improving overall sight, acupuncture can help treat various visual defects. Some examples of visual defects and chronic conditions that can be helped with acupuncture include:

• Age-Related Macular degeneration: This condition is a leading contributor to blindness and affects more than one million people in the United States. Although there is no cure for this condition, acupuncture has been shown to be effective in managing its symptoms and slowing its progression.
• Retinitis pigmentosa: This genetic condition ranges in severity from limited night vision to blindness. A study published in the Clinical and Experimental Optometry journal found acupuncture to be an effective treatment for this condition, in some cases leading to increased night vision after just one week of treatment.
• Glaucoma: Typically treated with eye drops, medications, and, in some cases, surgery, glaucoma is an eye condition resulting from pressure in the eyes leading to progressively worse vision and, ultimately, blindness. Studies have found that acupuncture may increase blood flow and reduce intraocular pressure, resulting in better visual acuity and a greater visual field for glaucoma patients. However, more research is needed to confirm its benefits.

Several clinical trials are ongoing in the United States and abroad to further test and verify the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating various visual defects.

In some cases, acupuncture can also assist with the underlying condition causing visual impairment as well. Acupuncture is known to effectively manage inflammation, which is a commonality among many of the conditions that may result in visual defects.

Whether you are impacted by a severe visual impairment or want to increase your eyes' acuity, acupuncture is a safe and effective intervention. Contact us today to learn more about how acupuncture can address your specific circumstances.