Most triathletes can’t do enough already. So why not work on your eyes! You’ll be the strongest sighter in the group. Is there age group awards who can see the best? Should be….
For almost a century, eye exercises have been promoted as a way to strengthen vision and ease nearsightedness and astigmatism, much like exercise for the body trims fat and improves health.
Some of the most popular techniques include eye-hand coordination drills, eye movement routines and focusing on blinking lights. The techniques are widely promoted online and advocated by various companies, some even claiming that they can reduce the need for glasses and ease learning disabilities. But several studies have concluded that many of these do-it-yourself techniques are baseless.
One of the latest studies, published in 2009, found little evidence in support of vision exercises that supposedly slow or reduce myopia, ease dyslexia and correct conditions caused by physiological problems, like blurred vision. A similar conclusion had been reached in a 2005 report that reviewed 43 previous studies, finding “no clear scientific evidence” for most of the methods reviewed.
But there are some areas of vision therapy that have been scientifically validated, including one called orthoptics. In this therapy, eye doctors prescribe exercises that can relieve double vision, focus problems and conditions like strabismus, also known as crossed eyes. Orthoptics can treat convergence insufficiency, in which the eyes have trouble working together. It affects as many as 1 in 5 people, but with the right exercises it can be all but cured, studies show.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Eye exercises are useful for some problems, but they do not seem to relieve myopia or dyslexia.
Dear Chiff, which research are you talking about?!
If eye exercises can’t help to relieve myopia(nearsightedness), long sightedness, lazy eye etc it means that thousands of my students and myself are medical miracles…
Glasses can’t heal the eyes, they help people to see better but in fact they weaken the muscles around the eyes. Once you start training the muscles your eyes will see clear again.
Your statement about natural vision improvement methods sounds like absurd. So, if you injure the muscles of your foot and you need crutches, will you also need them for the rest of your life? Or maybe there is a solution?
Glasses are crutches for the eyes, and fact is that the muscles around our eyes can be restored…
Evgania
Evgania:
You are correct in some ways. When you are myopic or hyperopic due to a problem with your lens, then eye exercises may help you because the muscles of the eye control the lens. But the lens only does at most 1/3 of the refraction of light in the eye.
If you have a problem with your cornea, which does the majority of the refractive power of the eye, then no amount of eye exercises can help, because it is due to the thickness of the cornea.You then need glasses or corrective surgery to repair the ametropia (refraction error). The eye exercises only help you with accomodation errors and not in errors in the shape of the eye.
Lazy eyes or strabismus MAY be able to cured with muscle strengthening but often it cannot be because it is an issue not with the muscles but in the brain itself. Often surgery is needed to tighten the muscles enough to correct the ‘lazy eye’
I would be interested in learning of the studies you have done on this topic, as we did not discuss it in our med school. This article was taken from NY Times so I’m sure you could look up the article to see their studies!
Cheers!
Amanda
Dear Amanda,
I would agree that if you look on some eye problems from a medical perspective it would be impossible to naturally cure almost any of them…
Please, let me explain myself.
There are too many things which you didn’t discuss in the medical school. For example the fact that 90% of all our health problems are in our mind. Is myopia in our gens or in our life style?
In my program I explain all those aspects,(there is not enough space and time to write every thing in this post) but what I am trying to say that I go far beyond eye exercises (even though they are also very helpful)
I would love to look up the article from NY Times, but I saw to many people with “impossible to correct eye problems” who cured their eyes on my seminars that I simply believe in the power of human mind and soul…
You can find the studies I’ve done in my book, you will get there by clicking on my name above this post
With a lot of respect and appreciation for your post and your interest.
Cheers,
Evgania