Virtual Reality Could Be the Next Step Forward for Vision Therapy
Visual therapy got its start as a way to treat strabismus (crossed eyes) in the 1800s. As the years passed, vision therapists took advantage of new technologies to treat a variety of visual conditions. Today, virtual reality offers an interesting, effective way to improve the crucial connection between the brain and eyes.
What Is Vision Therapy?
Specially trained optometrists called vision therapists diagnose and treat conditions that prevent people from using their vision efficiently. In addition to strabismus, conditions treated include amblyopia (lazy eye), convergence insufficiency (focusing issues), visual memory or processing problems, eye movements issues, and binocular vision problems that affect the eyes ability to work well together.
The therapy can also be helpful after a head injury or stroke and offers an effective way to improve reading issues, correct double vision, relieve eye strain symptoms, or improve depth perception. Vision therapy also boosts key skills needed for sports performance, such as eye-hand coordination and the ability to track a ball in the sky and catch it. Vision therapy offers an effective solution for children and adults and can improve visual issues that may have gone undiagnosed for years.
During therapy sessions, patients participate in activities designed to improve communication between the brain and eyes. Activities may involve hands-on games and activities, in addition to computer games and prism lenses in some cases.
Benefits of Virtual Reality
During a virtual reality session, you'll wear a headset that covers your eyes and creates an immersive, 3D environment. The three-dimensional aspect of virtual reality make it idea for vision therapy. Specific challenges for the eyes can be included at any point in the environment, improving the effectiveness of the therapy.
Virtual reality game play may involve shooting at moving targets, identifying objects by color or shape, or following objects as they move through a course or maze. As you maneuver through the environment, you may need to consistently shift your focus between near and far objects or coordinate eye and body movements.
Vision therapy benefits of virtual reality include:
- Improved Engagement. The games you play during vision therapy are designed to be entertaining and therapeutic.
- Control. Virtual reality games and activities are tailored to your particular vision issues. Your vision therapist can adjust the size and speed of targets, increase visual field depth, change the level of difficulty, or increase the level of contrast in the game to help you accomplish your therapy goals.
- Accuracy. Thanks to the responsiveness of the virtual reality system, your vision therapist can detect seemingly minor issues with eye movements that may contribute to your visual problems.
- Real-Time Feedback. Your vision therapist receives immediate results from your virtual reality session, which makes it easier to provide feedback and advice in real-time and make adjustments accordingly.
A research study published in BMC Ophthalmology in 2022 examined the effects of virtual reality vision therapy in patients with convergence insufficiency and accommodative dysfunction. These disorders happen when the eyes struggle to work together when focusing.
Blurry or double vision can occur in these disorders as the brain struggles to combine slightly different information from the eyes into a single image. Participating in 12 weeks of virtual reality therapy helped patients fuse two targets together to create one object. The therapy significantly improved binocular vision, according to researchers.
Another study published in JAMA Network in 2026 explored the benefits of home virtual reality training for children with exotropia, the most common type of strabismus. Patients enjoyed modest improvement in symptoms, but researchers noted that those who consistently followed the training program experienced the best results.
Wondering if virtual reality vision therapy could help you improve your vision? Contact our office to schedule an appointment with the vision therapist.
Sources:
BMC Ophthalmology: Virtual Reality-Based Vision Therapy Versus OBVAT in the Treatment of Convergence Insufficiency, Accommodative Dysfunction: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, 4/21/2022
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9027290/
JAMA Network: Virtual Reality–Based Vision Therapy for Intermittent Exotropia: A Randomized Clinical Trial, 3/9/2026
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2846022
medRXiv: Seeing Opportunity in Virtual Reality: A Rapid Review of the Use of VR as a Tool in Vision Care, 5/21/2025
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.20.25327918v1.full
Forbes: Through a New Lens: The Promise of Virtual Reality for Enhancing Vision Therapy, 9/17/2023