This article on Behavioral Optometry was published on December 7, 2023 by Margreet Kwaks from Brabant’s Dagblad - The Netherlands.
She interviewed our Colleague Rob Gevers from Berlicum, The Netherlands.
Here is the Direct link to the Dutch Article. —->
Article Translation
BERLICUM - Sometimes you can see well, but you still have problems with watching.
Sound complicated? That may be true, says Rob Gevers.
Berlicum. As a neuro-optometrist, he has been treating people with diabetes for years eye complaints, and there are more and more of them. “They are almost always people with sedentary jobs who look at a screen at a short distance.”
“When I came to Rob for an intake, a world opened up for me,” says Ellen Scherff (40) from Haarsteeg. She has been struggling with this for several years. Pain in her eyes causing her to become increasingly unable to do so. Driving becomes one problem. A visit to the neurologist proved fruitless and the lenses and eye drops that the ophthalmologist recommended did not help either.
Gevers measures the condition of the eyes like a kind of physiotherapist for the eyes 'visual system' of its customers. “An ophthalmologist knows as a medical specialist everything about the eyes, but less about looking,
” Gevers explains. In case of Ellen Scherff concludes that her left and right eyes are not working properly together and her eyes are too far outward.
Practice for fifteen minutes every day
Gevers made a treatment plan to adjust her 'visual lifestyle' with (day) light, space and movement as pillars.
The rehabilitation process demands quite a bit from the customer.” Scherff knows that as no other, because she follows visual training every four weeks for a year, consisting of exercises, tests and measurements.
She also gets exercises which she does for fifteen minutes every day. “It was really tough.
I went every month on the racing bike to Oogbalans, to arrive as rested as possible” she says.
“But the treatments have made me happy and changed my life."
Rob Gevers, Neuro-Optometrist
Primordial man mainly looked far away in a natural environment.
When Rob Gevers (67) started as an optician, contact lens specialist, fifty years ago, he noticed that a number of customers continued to have complaints despite their glasses or lenses. Out of curiosity about why, he delved into his profession. After completing his HBO training as an optometrist, he was introduced to neuro-optometry at an American conference 25 years ago. He specialized through various international training courses and now his Oogbalans practice in Berlicum is one of the few practices in the Netherlands that specializes in functional optometry.
Digital age doesn't help
Gevers foresees many 'visual burnouts' due to the digital age. "I notice in my practice that people with complaints often still see well, but become exhausted from looking. They are almost always people with sedentary jobs where they look at a screen from a short distance. I've never seen a gardener before. Our visual system in which your eyes, brain and body work together cannot cope with this rapid change. Primordial man mainly looked far away in a natural environment to protect himself from danger.”
The two-month waiting list at Oogbalans also strengthens Gevers believes that the need for functional optometry is growing. His customers come from far and wide. On average, a treatment process at Oogbalans lasts six months and costs 1,500 euros.
Functional optometry is not included in the basic package, but is included in the supplementary package with some health insurance policies.
For Reactions & More Information
Contact Rob Gevers @
Oogbalans Optometrie & Visuele training
Mercuriusplein 25
5258 AX Berlicum
The Netherlands
Telefoon:+31 073-6110085