Originally posted by structural75
Posted by Majestnic when she was seeing Dr. D. in New York before switching to Dr. Rivard:
Nicole has specific exercises to do to strengthen her eye muscles. They involve eye tracking, etc.
Posted by LATigner:
My daughter also had the neurological testing done. Dr. Ron Marinaro explained what it was for and we chose to do it - no pressure or other tactics to try and force us. The reason we elected to do the testing is that there is a theory that occular vestibular inbalance is associated with scoliosis. Dr. Ron said that all of the scoliosis patients he has tested have had positive results. He was also clear that it is unknown whether this causes scoloisis or is a result of scoli. But it makes sense to me that if a person's brain does not perceive the vertical plane correctly and thinks they are standing up straight when they are not - this is a deterimental thing.
Yes, the testing added $1200 to the cost but we were willing to try it based on our own research and conversations with Dr. Ron and others. Our daughter has some simple eye excercises to do.
Posted by BlueCrystalMan:
As for the extra testing... the data collected is going toward research, as there is a possible correlation between the ocular vestibular imbalance and scoliosis... the way I understood it is that the mind thinks the patient is out of balance and the brain uses the back muscles to balance a person. Over time, the muscles on one side or the other, depending on the perception of which way the body thinks its falling, get built up and in turn pull the spine that way. The testing determines which side is the more dominant side, and based on the data, eye exercises are prescribed to 'retrain' the brain to eliminate the imbalance. The testing goes toward prescribe specific exercises for the specific curves in his spine.
The exercises prescribed, both for the eyes and the physical part go toward helping to eliminate the curve and its causes. Software is provided to help retrain the brain for a minute every day, and he has to do a spinning exercise in his desk chair while focusing on his thumb in the distance. All this goes toward helping the brain adjust to the fact that my son isn't really off balance.
So personally, the tests made sense, and the data compiled for the greater good of current and future patients, and no I don't think I was scammed at all. Research dictates that they are on the right track, and so far my son's progression in terms of doing his exercises has been tremendous... I can see difference in his balance already both on the exercise ball and when doing his eye exercises.
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