Syntonic Phototherapy Program

A person with an illuminated head and some waves in the background

Phototherapy Connects the Eyes and Brain

OPTOMETRIC PHOTOTHERAPY FAQ

What is a Functional Visual Field?

Patients who have a limited visual functional field may experience slow reading, difficulty with reading, struggles with comprehension, eye strain, and decreased peripheral awareness. A functional visual field is not a pathological test but relates to the amount of visual information the brain is processing at one time. It can be used to assess the autonomic nervous system which keeps the balance between sympathetic (fright or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and revive) systems in the body. The autonomic system is integral to vision (eye teaming, eye focusing, eye tracking). The optometrist will perform specialized testing to measure and graph the functional visual field. Then, the specific colour filters used in Optometric Light Therapy are prescribed in a way to expand your functional visual field. This allows the brain to intake and process more visual information in order to bring about balance and reduce symptoms.

Is Light Therapy New?

Light therapy (Phototherapy) was first documented by the Egyptians and Greeks. In those days it was called Heliotherapy. In the medical field, it has been used to treat many conditions including jaundiced newborns and, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Dr. Spitler, who had an optometric and medical degree began researching and using Light Therapy in 1909. Dr. Spitler called his therapy “Syntonics” based on the word syntony, which means to bring balance.

Over the past decade researchers and clinicians have been discovering and adapting new and better ways to treat patients using light therapy. Such as Photobiomodulation. It is the most research field now with over 3000 peer reviewed papers on it yearly. The recent discovery of another light sensitive cell in the eye call the Intrinsic photosensitive retinal ganglion cell helps explain how there is a secondary pathway that light influence the brain.

Phototherapy uses specific filters of colours, (frequencies and wavelengths) in order to improve visual function. The retina of the eyes are part of the brain. A large part of the brain is involved in vision and in coordinating vision with the other senses, including balance, hearing, and proprioception. The direct connection between the eye and the brain is the reason that light therapy through the visual system is so effective in changing brain function.

Syntonic Phototherapy

Syntonic Phototherapy is the use of specific wavelengths of light to regain the balance of the body’s regulatory centres. Syntonic Phototherapy, also known as Light Therapy, is an advanced non-invasive treatment that has been around for over 100 years that can treat visual dysfunctions, such as strabismus (eye turn), amblyopia (lazy eye), focusing and convergence problems, learning disorders, and the effects that occur due to brain injuries, concussion, stress, and trauma.

A woman sitting on the floor looking out of a window.

What symptoms does Optometric Light Therapy treat?

Visual conditions that can benefit from phototherapy.

Syntonic Phototherapy is used as a primary or support treatment for the following visual problems  or for patients who suffer some of the following symptoms:

  • An eye that turns in or out relative to the other (Strabismus) This is often mislabelled as a ‘lazy eye’
  • Accommodative Dysfunctions (physical focusing disorders -Fluctuating blurry vision}
  • Double vision.
  • Asthenopia or general eye fatigue
  • Glare, light sensitivity, and difficulty with night vision
  • Reduced depth perception
  • Headaches
  • Vergence Dysfunctions - how the two eyes work together as a team, Converging (pointing in), as in looking toward a book or screen, and Diverging (pointing straight, as in looking at the blackboard in school.
  • Oculomotor Dysfunction - how the two eyes track, or course across a page of print or on the computer.
  • Nystagmus
  • Visual Attention Deficits - difficulty in maintaining concentration.
  • Vision-Related Learning Problems and behavioural challenges - vision problems that make reading and learning more difficult.
  • Delayed visual processing speed - how we make sense of what we are seeing.
  • Visual Discrimination and other visual information processing challenges
  • Constricted functional visual fieldsassociated with visual stress, emotional or physical trauma, brain injuries, binocular suppression, and some degenerative ocular disorders.
  • History of head trauma, fevers, or ear infections
  • Stress trauma (physical, mental, or emotional), chronic or severe illness, and chronic allergies

How do I know if I am a good candidate for Optometric Light Therapy?

How do we identify patients that would benefit from phototherapy ?

  1. Patient history
  2. How the pupil responds
  3. Functional Visual Fields.
  4. Optometric Binocular vision tests
  5. Ambient and Focal shift, etc.

Based on your diagnostic exam, specialized testing (such as Kinetic Functional fields pupil reactions and performance tests), and your history and symptoms, the optometrist will decide if light therapy may be right for you. Many patients benefit from Optometric Light Therapy before or in conjunction with Vision Therapy. There is no age limitation to doing light therapy. As long as the patient can sit and look at the light for an extended period of time (5-20 minutes) they are good candidates.

What happens during a Syntonics therapy program and how long does the program last?

Syntonic Phototherapy is a non-invasive treatment and is done as a single, standalone treatment, but it is often combined with Vision Therapy to reinforce and maintain long term benefits. When used in conjunction with Vision Therapy, results usually occur more quickly and facilitate the effectiveness of therapy. At times, Syntonic Phototherapy works to speed up Vision Therapy and reduces the amount of time in therapy.

Optometric phototherapy is done in a dark room with you looking into a colour light unit (called a Syntoniser). The Syntonics program may be done in office OR if circumstances are not easy for that a home device is loaned or provided to you. It is an additive process that is it has an accumulative effects,  meaning it needs to be repeated to increase the effectiveness.

Most patients do Optometric Light Therapy for 5-20 minutes a day, 3-5 days a week for an average of about 1-2 months. Obviously if your condition is much more deep seated such as strabismus, visual disturbances or TBI it can take much longer.

It is a non-intrusive program you are seated in a peaceful, comfortable and calming environment when you are doing the therapy. You just sit there and enjoy a time to yourself. Some patients chose to listen to music or a podcast during therapy (ask your optometrist if this is ok for you).

Over time, many patients start to observe some resolution of their symptoms. This is different for everyone and again it can vary based upon severity of your visual condition. In many cases, the functional visual field test and other progress assessments are made weekly or fortnightly by your optometrist. This helps demonstrate the changes and improvements sometimes before you start to

Colour Light Therapy Research

Syntonic Phototherapy
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45638974_Syntonic_Phototherapy
Foundations of color light therapy that history, devices, testing, colors, and effects. Pupils and visual fields are used to monitor progress and outcome of color light therapy by normalizing constricted fields and reducing pupil fatigue. Also states that children with learning problems have a functional reduction in their visual fields and can benefit from color light therapy.

Improvement in Depression Scores After 1 Hour of Light Therapy Treatment in Patients With Seasonal Affective Disorder
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5336550/
1 hour of bright light therapy has rapid improvement in of season affective disorder symptoms after a single session.

Short exposure to light treatment improves depression scores in patients with seasonal affective disorder: A brief report
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2913518/
Bright light therapy exhibits the biggest change in depression scores after 20 minutes and maximum change after 40 minutes.

Bright light therapy for depression: A review of its effects on chronobiology and the autonomic nervous system
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5403163/
How bright light therapy affects the body.

Illuminating Rationale and Uses for Light Therapy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2670336/
Light therapy can be used to improve sleep, dementia, and other mood disorders.

Evaluation of green light exposure on headache frequency and quality of life in migraine patients: A preliminary one-way cross-over clinical trial
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32903062/
Green light can be used in reducing the frequency of headaches and migraines