If you’re an adult living with strabismus, a condition where the eyes are misaligned, you may be wondering if it’s too late to improve your eye alignment without surgery. The good news is: natural, non-invasive options like vision therapy and targeted eye exercises can make a real difference, even in adulthood.
At Microprism Vision in Melbourne, we take a holistic and personalised approach to strabismus management, helping adults improve eye coordination, visual comfort, and confidence through clinically supported therapies.
Let’s explore what strabismus is, how it can affect your daily life, and whether vision therapy and eye exercises can help realign your eyes naturally.
What Is Strabismus?
Strabismus (also known as turned eye, crossed eyes, or lazy eye) occurs when the eyes do not align properly. One eye may turn in, out, up, or down while the other focuses normally. In adults, strabismus may be:
- A long-standing condition carried over from childhood
- A new development due to trauma, stroke, neurological change, or stress
Strabismus can lead to:
- Double vision
- Eye strain or fatigue
- Difficulty with depth perception
- Reduced confidence in social settings
- Headaches or poor visual focus
- Suppression of vision in one eye (to avoid seeing double)
Can Adults Benefit from Strabismus Exercises?
Yes, many adults with strabismus can benefit from targeted exercises and vision therapy. While surgery may be appropriate in some cases, it’s not the only solution. For many adults, non-surgical vision therapy provides functional improvements that help:
- Improve eye alignment and tracking
- Enhance visual comfort and stability
- Strengthen eye-brain communication
- Reduce or eliminate double vision
- Support better posture, balance, and confidence
The key is consistency and professional guidance. Just like physical therapy for the body, vision therapy retrains the visual system through regular, tailored exercises.
Examples of Strabismus Exercises for Adults
Although strabismus therapy should be customised to your specific needs, here are a few examples of exercises commonly used as part of a supervised program:
Pencil Push-Up Therapy
Hold a pencil at arm’s length and slowly bring it toward your nose, keeping both eyes focused on it. This strengthens the ability to converge both eyes on a near target. This is often used for esotropia (inward turning).
Brock String Exercise
A string with coloured beads is used to train binocular vision. By focusing on different beads along the string, patients can learn to coordinate both eyes at varying distances.
Barrel Card Training
This helps with divergence (outward turning) and convergence. A card with barrel-shaped patterns is used to teach the eyes how to focus together across distances.
Saccadic and Pursuit Training
These exercises improve the eyes’ ability to shift focus quickly and smoothly, which is crucial for reading and navigating daily environments.
Important: While these exercises are useful examples, they should only be done under the guidance of a qualified optometrist or vision therapist. Poor technique or incorrect application can worsen symptoms.
What Is Vision Therapy, and How Is It Different?
Vision therapy is a structured, clinically supervised program designed to improve how the eyes and brain work together. It often includes:
- Eye alignment and tracking training
- Depth perception and coordination exercises
- Balance and posture support
- Custom Microprism™ lenses to assist real-time visual alignment
- Neurological support using light-based therapies (such as Quantum Photo Somatics)
Unlike generic eye exercises, vision therapy is personalised and adjusted over time to meet each individual’s progress and needs.
Does Vision Therapy Work for Adults with Strabismus?
Absolutely. While results vary depending on the severity and type of strabismus, many adults experience meaningful improvements, including:
- Better eye alignment and control
- Reduced eye fatigue and visual discomfort
- Improved depth perception and coordination
- Increased comfort in social and work environments
At Microprism Vision, we’ve helped adults avoid unnecessary surgery or improve surgical outcomes by training their visual system to work more efficiently.
When Should You See a Behavioural Optometrist?
If you’re experiencing any of the following, it’s worth booking an assessment:
- Sudden or worsening eye turn
- Double vision or frequent eye strain
- Difficulty reading, driving, or focusing
- History of strabismus or amblyopia (lazy eye)
- Past strabismus surgery with unresolved symptoms
We offer comprehensive visual-neurological assessments in our Melbourne clinic to determine the cause, type, and best treatment path for your condition.
It’s Never Too Late to Improve Your Vision
Strabismus doesn’t have to define how you see, or how you feel. Whether you’ve lived with it for years or recently developed symptoms, there is hope beyond glasses or surgery. With professional guidance and a tailored therapy plan, many adults experience real improvements in alignment, comfort, and clarity.
Book a strabismus assessment today at Microprism Vision and explore how vision therapy can help you realign your eyes naturally, safely, gently, and effectively.
Schedule your appointment or learn more about our approach