Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1505456
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 49 L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 49 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the population of older people increases, the number of people experiencing vision loss will increase too. 4 Let's look at how these issues are causing an eyestrain epidemic, and how LMTs can help themselves and their clients. DIABETES Ten percent of all Americans, about 34 million people, have diabetes, which is the leading cause of blindness in working-age Americans. Massage therapists are not immune to this disease either. 5 About one-third of our diabetic clients, friends, and family members will develop a complication called diabetic retinopathy. High blood-sugar levels cause progressive damage to the blood vessels of the retina and the light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. As their vision worsens (blurred vision, f luctuating vision, double vision, dark or empty areas, no vision at all), sufferers squint and stare and strain to see. This naturally creates ongoing eye pain, eye fatigue, neck strain, and an increased chance of headaches. Obviously, many people can be saddened or depressed by these impairments. Ophthalmologist Bernhard Sabel says the stress of the diagnosis may even worsen the disease. He promotes counseling, meditation, stress management, and other holistic techniques to help his patients. 6 How Bodywork Can Impact Client Vision By Marybetts Sinclair KEY POINTS • Not only do stress hormones trigger responses like making your heart race, breath quicken, and muscles prepare for action, but the eyes react to emotional influences as well. • When a stress response keeps firing day after day, it can affect vision in a way that leads to struggling to see and the typical response of eyestrain, eye tension, headaches, stiff neck, back and shoulder pain, and body aches. In an ideal world, we would all develop healthy vision that is efficient, relaxed, and comfortable. But today, we are experiencing an increase in vision issues, caused by three widespread, ongoing issues that contribute to these musculoskeletal problems: myopia and dry eyes brought on by screen time, 1 diabetes with increasing cases of diabetic retinopathy, 2 and historically high levels of life stress. 3