Although chiropractic is not generally viewed as a remedy for blindness or other vision problems, it is common for chiropractors to experience instances in which the vision of a patient improved following treatment. This often occurs after a patient has been treated for a seemingly unrelated health issue.
Many studies and reports on the correlation between chiropractic care and improvement in vision problems originate from outside the chiropractic profession. The optometric community has been very open to investigation into the connection between chiropractic care and visual improvement.
A comprehensive review was compiled by a pair of doctors (one a medical ophthalmologist, the other a doctor of chiropractic) to investigate the link between the two professions. In this review, a number of vision corrections were attributed to chiropractic adjustment.
One case involved a nine-year-old girl suffering from a bilateral concentric narrowing of the visual fields. Following one spinal adjustment, her vision returned to normal. After living for one year without vision problems, she was suddenly struck on the head by a ball, and her visual troubles returned. Again, after one spinal adjustment, her vision problems were resolved.[1]
This case makes a particularly good argument for the chiropractic/vision connection. It is known that a sudden blow to the head can cause problems (even a change in the curvature) of the neck (cervical) spine. Such damage to the cervical spine can lead to a host of nervous system issues, including visual problems.
