Exercises to improve vision in myopia

Refractive anomaly that does not allow you to clearly see objects that are far away is called myopia or nearsightedness - a visual pathology when the image received by the visual organ does not reach the retina, but is located in front of it, which deprives it of clarity. To obtain a clear image, you need to return it to the retina. This is achieved in different ways: wearing glasses and contact lenses, surgically, for the same purpose, exercises have been developed to improve vision with myopia. People noticed the effectiveness of training the eye muscles to restore visual acuity a long time ago, when glasses had not yet been invented. Of course, it is much easier to correct vision with lenses or glasses, visual gymnastics requires a certain amount of effort. However, myopia usually progresses. And to avoid this, exercises for myopia are simply necessary. They do not exclude wearing glasses or contact lenses and are quite compatible with various conservative methods of vision correction. With the help of a set of exercises, it is undoubtedly possible to slow down the progression of the disease, and sometimes even improve vision, since their daily performance helps train the eye muscles, in particular the ciliary muscles, responsible for accommodation, improves blood flow in the vascular membrane and strengthens the connective tissue of the eyeball membrane - the sclera.

Exercises for myopia for children are basically no different from gymnastics for adults, you just need to choose simpler exercises from the proposed complexes that the child can repeat after you and remember, reduce the number of repetitions. Children's gymnastics for the eyes is done for no more than seven to eight minutes. Any physical activity is useful for vision - the child needs to walk more in the fresh air, jump, run, spend less time in front of the TV and computer monitor. When a child draws or writes while sitting at a table, it is imperative to monitor his posture, teach him to keep his back straight. Incorrect posture at the table will become a habit and cause irreparable harm to the child's health, including vision.

In adolescence, when the body is rebuilt, the hormonal background changes, and at the same time, visual loads increase: the child begins to read more, school assignments take much longer, in addition, modern children search for information of interest to them on the Internet, they also spend their leisure time in front of the monitor, playing games, reading e-books, communicating on social networks, and myopia often progresses. Exercises for the treatment of myopia in adolescents are especially relevant.

The set of exercises for myopia has practically no contraindications (they are not done in the first six months after ophthalmological operations, with retinal detachment, acute eye injuries) and age restrictions, the main criterion for choosing classes for a child is the simplicity and accessibility of the task that he can learn. Teenagers can easily do any exercises for adults, the main thing is to be able to convince them of the need for eye gymnastics. With high myopia, before doing visual gymnastics, you should undergo an examination and consult an ophthalmologist.

Gymnastics for strengthening the eye muscles by different authors include similar exercises, very similar to the asanas of Indian yogis and practices of Tibetan monks known since ancient times for maintaining and improving visual acuity, generalized and supplemented. By the way, the psychological background of eye gymnastics by modern authors is also borrowed from the ancients. I would also like to note that gymnastics is suitable not only for nearsighted people, but also for farsighted people and those with astigmatism. With its help, you can get rid of dry eyes, fatigue, and other discomfort after prolonged visual strain.

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Bates Method: Exercises for Myopia

The first of the modern ophthalmologists, i.e. those already familiar with glasses and cameras, to propose eye exercises was the American doctor William Bates. His method is almost 200 years old. All the others (Norbekov, Zhdanov, Shichko and others) are his followers, promoting the Bates method or generalizing his experience, slightly changing the sequence of exercises and interpreting them differently.

The main exercise for relaxing the eye muscles in case of myopia is palming (palm is a palm in English). Healers who profess different fundamental spiritual principles have been using palms for diagnostics and treatment for a long time. We ourselves often involuntarily press them to the sore spot and feel some relief and calm. It is believed that they have healing energy.

You can relax the muscles of tired eyes with your palms. This is done as follows: place your hands with your fingers together crosswise, one on top of the other, with your palms facing your eye sockets. The crossed fingers are in the middle of your forehead, and the dimples of your slightly “collected” palms are above your eyes. Your nose is between them, your nostrils are not pinched, and your breathing is free. If you open your eyes, there should be absolute darkness under your palms. For convenience, rest your elbows on the table. You should sit with your back straight in a comfortable, relaxed position. Palming should take three to five minutes. Your thoughts should be pleasant and soothing, relaxed, as should your facial muscles.

Before removing your hands, it is recommended to close your eyes vigorously and relax your eyelid muscles several times in turn. Then, removing your palms from your eyes but not opening them, move your head and eyeballs under your closed eyelids a little, removing the stiffness and restoring blood supply. Finally, it is recommended to rub your eyes with your fists without fanaticism and, taking a deep breath, open them. This relaxation can be done without limitation several times during the day. Even this exercise is enough to improve visual acuity.

The eye muscles are trained no more than three times a day, always before meals, without glasses or contact lenses. During the exercises, movements are performed only by the eyeballs, smoothly and slowly, the head must be held straight, in a neutral position, it and the face remain motionless.

An approximate set of exercises:

• after blinking quickly, raise your pupils up and down three or four times, blink for a few seconds;
• move your pupils the same number of times to the stop in one direction, then in the other, blink;
• diagonal movements of the pupils: from the upper right corner to the lower left (three to four times), blink, and vice versa, blink;
• draw a rectangle with the movement of the pupils, first from left to right, blink, then draw in the opposite direction and blink again;
• twice in each direction we draw a circle with the movements of the pupils, starting from the top point and returning to it, between the change of directions and having finished the exercise, we blink our eyes;
• we draw a rainbow with our pupils (a convex semicircle), then, blinking, its imaginary reflection (a concave semicircle);
• then an oval, a rhombus, a snake, not forgetting to blink your eyes after each drawing;
• then more complex figures - a dollar sign, horizontally and vertically located, you can also bring your eyes to the bridge of your nose, close and widen them, draw eights and bows with your eyes.

It is not necessary to perform the whole complex at once, you can choose several exercises, do not overload the muscles. Exercises can be done either by simply looking in front of you, or by covering your eyes with your hands (under palming).

In addition to exercises to strengthen the eye muscles, the return of visual acuity is facilitated by light exposure to the retina of the eyeball (solarization). This procedure has a beneficial effect on the eye structures and blood circulation in the vascular membrane of the eye. The natural source of light - the sun - affects the organ of vision most effectively.

• at the moment when the sun rises or sets behind the horizon, we stand facing it with open eyes and watch the appearance (disappearance) of the luminary;
• during the day, stand with your eyes closed, raise your face to the sun and turn your head from side to side about 20 times (you can do this outdoors or in front of a window indoors);
• to perform this exercise, we position ourselves so that a shadow falls on one closed eye, and sunlight on the other, and we swing our body with a small amplitude, falling first on the shadow side, then on the sunny side (20-25 swings);
• This exercise is performed near a body of water – the gaze must be focused on the sun’s reflection on the water.

Using artificial light from a regular electric bulb or a lit candle, you can also do solarization. For example, look at the flame of a candle or the light of a bulb for 5-7 seconds in a dark room, then blink and turn to one side not only with your gaze but also with your whole body, then to the other (repeat about 20 times), running your eyes over the burning candle. After solarization, it is recommended to do palming followed by a set of exercises, and finish the training with it.

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Zhdanov's exercises for myopia

Based on the developments of William Bates, having generalized and combined in his own way already known exercises into a complex, the Russian physicist V.P. Zhdanov began to promote this alternative method of recovery and restoration of lost visual functions. According to him, with the help of these exercises Zhdanov himself managed to normalize his vision, getting rid of farsightedness. In addition to gymnastics, it is recommended to use biologically active supplements to normalize visual function.

The exercises in the complex according to Zhdanov are not new, he recommends to start the complex with palming, having done the whole sequence, to close the eyes with hands again, and to repeat the same exercises under palming. And to finish with relaxation.

The exercises are performed smoothly and at a slow pace, using only the eyes. Do not overexert yourself, if you feel worse, stop and reduce the number of exercises next time.

Treatment with natural and artificial light is also welcome. It can be combined with exercises. Then you need to start with solarization, then palming and gymnastics that strengthen the visual muscles. We finish with palming.

Exercise "mark on glass" for myopia

An effective method of training accommodation (quickly adapting the eyes to distinguish objects at different distances) is considered to be the exercise "mark on glass". Before performing it, you do not need to remove your vision-correcting glasses (contact lenses). The authorship of this exercise belongs to Professor E.S. Avetisov.

A bright mark should be pasted on the window glass at the eye level of the person who will do this exercise. If several people in the family will do gymnastics, then you can paste several marks of different colors at the corresponding levels. The mark should be small, from three to five millimeters in diameter. It is necessary to determine a distant object outside the window, located on a straight line that passes to it from the eye through the mark. The exercise is performed as follows: fix your gaze for about two seconds on the mark, the next two seconds we move it to the distant object outside the window. This exercise is performed for seven minutes, alternating glances into the distance with glances at the mark. The duration of the first two or three sessions should be no more than five minutes, then the time is increased. It is recommended to do it at least twice a day, with each eye separately and with both eyes together.

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Eye exercises for myopia according to Norbekov

This author can also be considered a popularizer and follower of William Bates' method. He did not invent any new exercises, choosing several for his complex and interpreting them in his own way. The psychological background is also not new - a person recovers by starting to actively train and feeling his health and energy return.

To perform gymnastics that strengthen the visual muscles, a calm environment is necessary. The person sits with a straight back and shoulders back, holds the head level and looks straight ahead. During the exercises, it should be motionless, only the eyes work. The psychological attitude is positive, exclusively for recovery.

The complex includes the following exercises:

• Raise your eye pupils upward and imagine continuing this movement to the position of looking vertically at the ceiling, without raising your head;
• lower your pupils down and imagine continuing this movement to the position of looking vertically at the floor, as if through yourself;
• move your pupils as far to the left as possible, mentally continuing their movement to the ear;
• the same movement to the right;
• draw a butterfly with the movement of the pupils: diagonally from the lower left corner we move the pupils to the upper right corner, lower them vertically to the lower right corner and diagonally move them to the upper left corner; then in the reverse order: from the lower right corner we move the pupils diagonally to the upper left corner, lower them vertically down and diagonally move them to the upper right corner; blink (while doing this exercise, you need to try to draw a larger butterfly);
• we draw infinity signs with our pupils in one direction, then in a mirror image, and blink;
• this exercise is especially useful for myopia: place your index finger in front of you and, looking at its tip with both eyes, touch it to the tip of your nose, then relax your gaze, looking forward; bring your gaze to the bridge of your nose, relax again, looking forward; bring your pupils to a point in the middle of your forehead between your eyebrows; relax your gaze, looking forward (while doing this, we see objects on the sides with our relaxed peripheral vision, without moving our pupils); repeat this exercise seven to eight times in a complex;
• touch the tip of the nose with the index fingers of both hands and focus both pupils on them, then slowly spread your fingers horizontally, each in its own direction, as before, each eye keeps its own finger in focus, however, you should not spread your pupils to the sides, you need to use peripheral vision (repeat several times, without straining your eyes);
• with your eyes open, move your pupils around the circumference of a large dial, fixing your gaze on each number, in one direction, then in the other; repeat, throwing your head back and looking up (trying to increase the circumference from workout to workout);
• we repeat the same thing with our eyes closed.

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Exercises to relax the eye muscles for myopia

The main eye muscle relaxing exercise is palming. It can be done as often as you like, both before and after visual gymnastics, and simply to relieve eye fatigue during work, especially at the computer. Even in 15-20 seconds your eyes will rest and return to normal, although, of course, a duration of at least three minutes is much more effective.

Another effective exercise for relaxing the eye muscles, as well as the neck, which is very important for ensuring normal blood supply to the visual organs. Sit down, relax, close your eyes, imagine yourself with a nose like Pinocchio. Start drawing or writing with the tip of your nose whatever you like, without rushing or overexerting yourself. Children also do this exercise with pleasure.

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Exercises for the prevention of myopia

General motor activity, any kind of sports, dancing reduce the likelihood of developing myopia. To prevent the development of myopia, as well as hyperopia, and to get rid of eye fatigue, you can use sets of exercises developed by Professor Avetisov. Visual gymnastics is performed slowly or at a medium pace, trying to maintain the greatest possible amplitude of pupil movements. At the beginning of the exercises, three to five repetitions are done, gradually increasing the number to eight to ten.

Exercises that activate the process of nutrition, respiration of the eye tissues, as well as the circulation of tear fluid, are performed while sitting:

• Close your left eye tightly, holding it for three to five seconds, open and close your right eye, repeat in turn;
• blink quickly for about ten seconds, pause for the same amount of time, repeat at least three times;
• Gently massage each closed eye with the pad of your finger on the same side for one minute using circular movements;
• Using the tips of three fingers of each hand, lightly press on the eyeball on the same side for two to three seconds (three to four times);
• Hold the skin of the brow ridges in place with your index fingers on each side and close your eyes six to eight times, resisting this process with your fingers.

To improve the accommodative capacity of the eye, the author recommends doing the following exercises:

• standing, look ahead for two or three seconds, then focus your gaze for five seconds on your thumb, located opposite the tip of your nose, approximately 30 centimeters from it, relax and lower your hand (repeat ten times);
• standing, stretch your arm out in front of your face and focus your gaze on your index finger, after three to five seconds, without looking away, bend your arm at the elbow, slowly bring it closer to the tip of your nose until your finger visually begins to split in two (repeat six to eight times);
• stretch one arm out at eye level with the thumb raised, fixing your gaze on it for three to five seconds, then covering the corresponding eye with the other hand, bend and straighten the extended arm for the same amount of time, changing the distance from the eyes to the finger, change hands and repeat (do this with each hand six to eight times).

These exercises are considered preventive. The training complexes of William Bates and his followers are positioned as more effective eye exercises for myopia. However, the division of vision gymnastics into preventive and therapeutic is quite arbitrary. You can choose a set of exercises to your liking (there are other methods besides those described above). The main thing is to do them systematically, taking into account the nuances of their implementation. The main obstacle to recovery, as evidenced by the authors of the complexes and reviews of people who managed to recover, is our inertia and laziness.

Recommendations on how to cure myopia at home include not only exercises, but also general physical activity, a psychological attitude towards victory and a balanced diet, including foods that are good for vision.

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