Young businesswoman doing exercises at workplace to relieve tired of computer eyes, massaging closed eyelids to relax muscles, reduce tension, improve vision, yoga for eye strain, eyesight relaxation

What causes vision impairment and loss?

Vision loss can happen gradually or occur suddenly, can impact both eyes or just one and it can affect your entire field of vision or only certain sections.

Vision loss is defined as the loss of eyesight that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses and it is commonly caused by:

  • Genetic factors
  • Trauma or injury to your eye
  • Ageing
  • Other health conditions

Some vision loss and impairment comes from conditions that affect your eyes, while other  vision loss comes from conditions that affect the visual processing centres in your brain, i.e. how your brain perceives and filters what your eye can see.

What vision conditions can benefit from vision acutherapy?

At ben&biao we use our vision acutherapy program to assist clients who are suffering from many types of vision loss and impairment, including:

  • Cataracts – a clouding of the normally clear lens of your eye
  • Dry Eyes – a common condition that occurs when your unable to provide adequate lubrication for your eyes
  • Diabetic Retinopathy – a diabetes complication that damages the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye
  • Glaucoma – the leading cause of blindness in Australia, caused by a build-up of pressure in your eye that damages your optic nerve
  • Macular Degeneration – causes loss of eyesight in the centre of your field of vision
  • Optic Nerve Atrophy – mild to severe damage to your optic nerve, affecting your central vision, peripheral vision and colour vision
  • Optic Neuritis – swelling and inflammation damages your optic nerve
  • Retinal Detachment – the layer of tissue on the inside of the back of your eye separates from your eyeball
  • Retinal Vein Occlusion – one of the veins in your retina becomes blocked
  • Retinitis Pigmentosa – an inherited retinal disease causing progressive loss of night and peripheral vision and even total blindness
  • Stargardt’s Syndrome – a genetic eye disorder that causes progressive vision loss
  • Uveitis – eye inflammation that affects the middle layer of tissue in your eye wall

For more information please book an appointment with Heidi Dunn or read our case studies

FAQs

Micro acupuncture for eye conditions

An intensive and contemporary method for treating chronic degenerative eye conditions.
At Ben And Biao we use a combination of micro acupuncture, Chinese herbs, electro Acupunture and holistic support for chronic degenerative eye conditions such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigementosa. Micro-acupuncture  was used by researchers at John Hopkins university in 2014 for vision disorders and testing showed some subjects had improvement in both eyes after only 1-2 weeks that lasted unto 10-12 months. Night vision and adaptation from light to dark improved significantly and improvements in visual field tests. At our clinic, our practitioners are trained in micro acupuncture along with traditional Chinese Medicine, training in naturopathic supplements for eyes and combine these treatments into the Ben And Biao Acuvision program. Please see link in bio for more

Can acupuncture help my vision?

Yes it can. Both traditional acupuncture and contemporary acupuncture systems such as micro acupuncture can assist with improved vision.
In vision loss there are both dead cells and there are dying and damaged cells. It’s unlikely that acupuncture and herbs can repair dead cells but the damaged areas surrounding the dead areas CAN recover. To repair cells you need to increases blood flow to the eyes, which increases oxygen, activating the mitochondria stimulating cell repair and regeneration through protein synthesis. Acupuncture and herbs strengthens the blood vessels, clearing out blockages and stimulates neuroplasticity.
At Ben And Biao we have training and experience in both and have used our skills and experience in both acupuncture and Chinese herbs, nutrition, qi gong to develop an intensive program that:
  • Decreased inflammation around the eye
  • Increased ocular blood flow
  • Improved neuro-activity of the retina and whole eye
  • Improved optic nerve conduction

Does acupuncture for vision mean needles in my eyes?

Absolutely not!
We use different systems of acupuncture in the treatment of visual disorders such as macular degeneration and Retinitis Pigmentosa, glaucoma, CRVO and dry eyes but never are there needles in the eyes!

Patients often ask about research regarding acupuncture. Below are some research articles supporting acupuncture and the treatments we provide at the clinic. This is by no means the extensive list and we encourage you to investigate further if this is of interest to you.

  1. Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion; Observation on Therapeutic Effect of Age-related Macular Degeneration; N.J. Jiao; January 2011
  2. Ava K. Bittner, OD et. al. , A pilot study of an acupuncture protocol to improve visual function in retinitis pigmentosa patients, Clinical and Experimental Optometry, May, 2014.
  3. Effects of acupuncture on morphological changes of photoreceptor cells in rats with retinitis pigmentosa.” by Ma R, Wu G, Zhang R. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2015 Nov;35(11):1149-53.
  4.  Zhao Y, et al,  Clinical observation of Erlong Xizhu acupuncture for retinitis pigmentosa, Zhongguo Zhen Jiu., July, 2015
  5. Law, Simon K and Li, Tianjing, Acupuncture for glaucoma,  Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2007
  6. Yeh TY, Lin JC, Liu CF, Effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation through acupoints of Pucan (BL 61) and Shenmai (BL 62) on intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma: a randomized controlled trial, Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, February, 2016
  7. The effect of low-concentration atropine combined with auricular acupoint stimulation in myopia control. Cheng HC et. al. Complementary Therapeutic Medicine, June, 2014
  8. Lv H, Wang L, et al, Clinical observation on therapeutic effect of myopia in children treated with abdomina acupuncture, Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. June, 2015
  9. “Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography for monitoring the lower tear meniscus in dry eye after acupuncture treatment.” by Lin T et. al. Evidence Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, 2015.
  10. Effects of retinal transcription regulation after GB 20 needling in retina with optic neuritis. Frontier in integrative neuroscience, 29the Sept 2020,  Chen Jie, Zhang Li et al
  11. Acupuncture treatment reverses retinal gene expression induced by optic nerve damage injury via RNA sequencing analysis. Frontiers in integrative neuroscience , Oct 2019, Chen Jie, Zhang Li, et al
  12. Acupuncture therapy is more effective than artificial tears for dry eye syndrome: evidence based on a meta-analysis. Yang L et al. Evidence Based Complementary Alternative Medicine May, 2015

Any Questions?

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What is our approach

Our approach to natural therapy and medicine is simple. We use:

Evidence Based Protocols

We are guided by research and proven protocols that get results. We belong to global learning networks and keep up-to-date with the latest findings in our fields.

Summaries of our findings and recommendation

We provide you with a clear Treatment Plan setting out our agreed treatment aims and how we plan to get you there.

Experienced practitioners

We are highly qualified, with experienced practitioners with many years of experience. Most importantly we practice medicine because we love it

Proven modalities

  • Acupuncture
  • Physiotherapy
  • Clinical nutrition
  • Nursing
  • Herbal Medicine
  • Neutraceuticals
  • Ultra sound

High quality products

We source Organic and AAA rated natural herbs for our teas, broths and medicines. Our practitioner supplements are tested to ensure you are getting the exact ingredients and dosages we prescribe for you.