It is common that it is possible to improve vision and even cure myopia with special gymnastics for the eyes. We decided to verify the validity of such statements.

About the sets of exercises that help restore worsening vision, write Media, and Internet users talk about their positive experience in their use on Blog-platforms And YouTube. Collections of such exercises can be found on bookstore shelves (for example, books "How to restore vision yourself"Evgenia Oremus and"Eye exercises»Elena Boyko). There is information about the benefits of such gymnastics even on sites medical and specialized ophthalmological organizations.

Exercises for vision, which Recommend On most sites, this is a set of movements of eyeballs and centuries designed to train the muscles of the eyes. Sometimes it includes focusing a look at approaching and moving objects. It is claimed that such exercises help improve vision and cure eye diseases associated with its deterioration.

Most often, when it comes to poor vision, this refers to the so -called abnormalities of refraction: myopia (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopy, it is also hyperopia) and astigmatism. This is the most Frequent problemsassociated with vision. With abnormalities of refraction, the shape of the eye or its individual parts changes, due to which the rays of light are incorrectly refracted and focused not on the retina (as happens with normal vision), but beyond its borders. Myopia - This is a disease in which objects nearby seem to be clockwork, and those that are at the distance are blurry. Accurate cause The myopia is still not clear to scientists, but in most cases it is transmitted genetically and can worsen due to lifestyle (for example, with constant reading or working at the computer). Hypermetropia - The opposite myopia is a phenomenon when objects close to odd. Fruise is also often It happens hereditary and more often develops after 40 years, sometimes other diseases, such as diabetes or cancer, can lead to it, but this is quite rare.

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At Astigmatism There is unclear vision in the distance and near, vision problems in the dark and some other symptoms. Astigmatism May be Congenital, and can develop as a result of other diseases of the eyes, due to injury or after surgery (but not as a result of excessive load on vision or other lifestyle factors).

Authoritative medical organizations, such as the Clinic Research Center Mayo"And the non -profit medical center"Cleveland clinic"(USA), as well as National Health Service Great Britain and others recommend using glasses or contact lenses to compensate for myopia, and surgical operations for treatment. The same recommendations Give for treatment Hyperopia and astigmatism. “Verified” failed to find eye exercises in guidelines for the prevention of the development of these diseases in authoritative sources. Basically, experts advise limiting the time of work at the screen and taking breaks, ensure normal lighting when reading and sitting at a computer, wear sunglasses on the street, abandon smoking, fully eat and regularly check vision with an ophthalmologist. However, since these diseases are often inherited, it is not a fact that even if all these recommendations are observed, visual impairment can be completely prevented.

In September 2023, Chinese scientists Published Meta analysis of existing studies about the effectiveness of eye exercises in the treatment of myopia. They studied English and China-language scientific works and came to the conclusion that today there are no evidence of the positive effect of exercises in the treatment of myopia.

Centers for the control and prevention of US diseases also called Among frequent diseases accompanied by impairment of vision, cataract, glaucoma, amblyopia (or “lazy eye”), diabetic retinopathy, age -related macular degeneration and strabismus.

Cataract - This is a clouding of the area of the lens caused by the destruction of the proteins from which it consists. Most of the cataracts are caused by natural age -related changes, but sometimes a different disease or trauma becomes the cause. To reduce the risk, experts advise protecting their eyes from the sun, protect them from mechanical damage, abandon smoking and eat right.

Glaucoma - This is damage to the optic nerve, which over time can lead to complete blindness. Doctors do not yet know what leads to the development of glaucoma, so there are no recommendations for prevention, except for regular examinations with an ophthalmologist. It is also completely impossible to cure it, but it is possible to seriously slow down the development of the disease with eye drops that reduce intraocular pressure, as well as laser and surgical intervention.

Age macular degeneration (or age-related yellow spot degeneration) is damage to the macula (the photosensitive part of the retina) either as a result of thinning, or due to an abnormal growth of blood vessels. This disease also leads to flexibility of vision. As a prevention, it is recommended to simply lead a healthy lifestyle: to eat right, avoid bad habits, play sports. Specialized drugs or surgical intervention can be used for treatment.

Diabetic retinopathy -This is a disease that affects the blood vessels of the retina of the eye, due to which vision can become unclear. It can develop in any person with any type of diabetes. To reduce the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, it is necessary to control the blood sugar and regularly check the vision with an ophthalmologist so that, if necessary, he can prescribe treatment - injections, laser or surgical intervention.

“Verified” could not detect sources in which any authoritative medical organizations recommend sets of exercises for the treatment or prevention of the above diseases. It was not possible to detect qualitative scientific research that would confirm the effectiveness of such gymnastics.

Some quite authoritative medical sources They saythat eye exercises are effective at amblyopia. This is a disease associated with a violation of the joint work of the brain and eyes, when the brain ceases to recognize visual signals received from one of the eyes (extremely rarely - from both). Most often, amblyopia is found in children. The exact cause of its occurrence is unknown, but sometimes it can be associated with other eyes of the eyes - for example, when myopia, cataracts or other problems are observed on one of them. In this case, the brain begins to “rely” only to that eye that sees better, avoiding signals from another. In this case, it is necessary to first cure the concomitant disease, and then adjust the vision by wearing a bandage or instillation of special drops into a “strong” eye to force the brain to use both. Nevertheless, experts of the authoritative clinic of Cleveland They say: There is no scientific evidence that exercises can somehow cure amblyopia. It was not possible to detect authoritative scientific research that would confirm the effectiveness of training of the eye muscles with this disease.

Eye gymnastics can be included in the complex of treatment measures Crash -eyed - Diseases when the eye muscles cannot act synchronously, which in the absence of treatment can lead to amblyopia, which was mentioned above. Since strabismus is really associated with muscle work, their training, apparently, can have a positive effect.

Poor vision in the distance can be associated not only with myopia, but also with the so -called spasm of accommodation, or spasm the ciliary muscle. This muscle changes the shape of a lens when a person focuses on closely located objects - when the far view, it should be normal in the distance, it should relax so that the vision is focused on objects in the distance. However, this does not happen during spasm, as a result of which distant objects seem odd, since the gaze remains focused near. Unlike myopia, the spasm of accommodation is not inherited, or maybe called either other eyes of the eyes, or excessive load when working at the computer, reading and other activities associated with long focus on closely located objects. For treatment spasm of accommodation is prescribed by special drops relaxing the ciliary muscle, or other therapy, but sometimes Recommend And home exercises For workout muscles of the eye. Since the symptoms of spasm of the ciliary muscle and myopia are similar, it will not be possible to independently determine the diagnosis and choose the treatment, you need to seek help from an ophthalmologist.

There are also studies that confirm some effectiveness of eye exercises at convergence insufficiency -The disease in which the eye muscles when focusing on closely located objects work incorrectly, which is why vision nearby is vague. Muscle training, really, can help in this case, this confirmed studyThe results of which in 2011 published South Korean scientists. 16 people with this diagnosis for 12 weeks performed a pencil. Its essence was that the patient should hold a pencil at an extended arm distance approximately in the middle between the eyes. Then you need to focus on the pencil and gradually bring it closer to the nose until the image begins to double. The subjects performed two approaches of 20 approaches every day. After 12 weeks, 62.5% of the study participants had improvements.

Thus, no gymnastics for vision will be effective for the treatment and prevention of most of the most common eye diseases, such as myopia, farsightedness, cataract, glaucoma, etc., because their causes are in no way related to the work of the eye muscles. No authoritative medical organization recommends applying these exercises to treat these diseases. It was also not possible to find a single qualitative scientific research that would confirm the effectiveness of gymnastics in such situations. However, in some cases, for example, with strabismus or convergence insufficiency, ophthalmologists can prescribe certain exercises to perform at home patients.

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