Eye Health Center

Eye Exercises

Eye exercises are used to treat patients who have trouble using their eyes to see correctly. A doctor may prescribe eye exercises to help patients who:

• Can't focus their eyes in order to read.
• Have one eye that drifts outward or inward.
• Have undergone surgery and need to strengthen muscle control.
• Have strabismus or crossed eyes.
• Have amblyopia.
• Have double vision.

When Should I Consider Eye Exercises?

If you regularly experience symptoms such as eyestrain, blurred vision, headaches, increased sensitivity to bright light, tired eyes, or heavy eyelids, you may be a candidate for eye exercises. Eye exercises will not help patients who have nearsightedness, dyslexia, or excessive blinking or squinting of the eyes. Also, these exercises are usually not effective for paralysis of an eye muscle, eye muscle spasms, or eyesight problems that do not cause the symptoms mentioned above.

With conditions such as amblyopia, eye exercises are usually most helpful when prescribed in early childhood. Providing proper eyeglasses, if needed, is the first step. Amblyopia is then treated by patching or using eyedrops to block or blur the good eye. Vision therapy exercises can also force the brain to see through the amblyopic eye, which helps to restore vision.

What Do the Eye Exercises Involve?

Eye exercises strengthen the eye muscles and stimulate the vision center of the brain. Through a series of progressive therapeutic exercises, patients can be instructed on how to control their eye muscles and to see properly.

The eye exercises prescribed are usually unique to the patient and vary depending on the patient's age and other existing eye problems. Examples of different types of eye exercises include covering one eye with one hand and looking at different objects continuously instead of staring at just one object; concentrating the eye on a solitary object; or having the eye follow a pattern in order to build vision muscles.