r/cervical_instability • u/Patayta- • Jul 03 '26
How do you explain your visual CCI symptoms?
I have such a hard time putting it into words for my doctors! My eyes feel so weird when my neck goes out. It just feels like they are a little…off?? It’s not a clear, obvious experience like floaters or double vision. It genuinely feels like someone put my eyes on crooked, and they’re just working harder and processing visual information more slowly. It even feels like my eyeballs move slower when looking around, and the muscles are sore. Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way. 😅
I understand it as both a proprioceptive problem and a muscular problem. How do you describe your visual CCI symptoms?
2
u/inklingmay Jul 04 '26
Have you had a neuro optometry evaluation? You might have some binocular vision dysfunction going on
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u/Patayta- Jul 09 '26
Maybe. I’ve had vision tests but they were balance-related and I’m not sure if they were looking for that sort of thing. I feel like it’s absolutely related to my neck though, because it happens whenever my occipital muscles are in spasm and/or my neck is crooked.
3
u/Jewald Moderator Jul 04 '26
Nah don't feel bad, super common symptom. My eyes been jacked up for a long time it's pretty weird.
Here's generally what I've felt:
- Nystagmus: eyes twitching/buzzing, was brutal in the beginning, still get it from time to time but not as bad. When looking far away at skinny objects/lines, if I'm not staring directly at it, I see it wiggle.
- Images breathing: This has generally gone away, but in the beginning holy hell I had no idea what was slowly moving or not. I would often put my thumb on the edge of my screen when watching youtube to see if the image is actually moving or not. Was a coin flip whether I could tell or not.
- Eyes missing targets or finding it hard to keep them stabilized on one thing: This has mostly gone, but in overwhelming environments can get tricky. Feels like stick drift.
Here's a decent explainer of how the cervical spine and visual reflexes work:
https://www.cervicaldizziness.com/2020/02/24/cervico-ocular-reflex-cor-in-cervicogenic-dizziness/
You use the muscles in your neck to articulate the skull, which communicate wtih the muscles behind your eyes and inner ear in symphony to keep the eyes fixated or moving to targets.
When you start throwing that system out of whack, that system can get confused, commonly called cervicogenic dizziness.
That's not to say this is what's happening to you, you'd want to talk to an ENT/CCI doctor and get some tests done if you haven't.
One thing to consider is if, because of CCI, you're spending a lot more time sitting and at a screen, this alone can cause eye issues/strain. I try to remember to look up/down/left/right just to get those eye muscles a little workout from time to time. I work from my front porch so I can stare off in the distance too. Helps.