| Astigmatism is caused by a warped eyeball, which distorts the image on the retina at the back of the eye. In extreme cases, the distortion is like looking in a carnival mirror that makes people appear tall and thin or short and fat.
Astigmatism can occur alone or combined with other visual problems such as myopia. Astigmatism is usually treated with corrective lenses, which can create dependency and make the astigmatism worse.
Fortunately, eye exercises provide a safe, natural, method of treating astigmatism by normalizing the shape of the eyeball, usually eliminating or reducing the need for corrective lenses.
The reason eye exercises are so effective against astigmatism is because the underlying cause is usually a habitual head tilt. This makes the muscles surrounding the eyeball compensate by pulling unevenly, which warps the eyeball. Eye exercises correct the imbalance and reverse the warping.
Eye Exercises And Head Tilt
In addition to eye exercises, it's vitally important to correct the head tilt and avoid corrective lenses as much as possible. If you already wear corrective lenses and have an old pair of weaker glasses, go back to wearing them. Check your head tilt by asking a friend to observe you.
The key to correcting the head tilt is to tilt your head in the opposite direction for several weeks! Make a dozen cards that say "Tilt Head" and put them in strategic places in your home, car, and at work. Whenever you look at a card, make sure your head is tilted accordingly.
There are many eye exercises for astigmatism, but the eye exercises described below will give you some improvement. Do them without glasses or use weaker glasses. These eye exercises are very powerful so don't overdo them to the point where you see flashes of light. If the eye exercises make you dizzy, close your eyes until the dizziness goes away. Keep your head still by holding your chin.
Eye Exercise #1: Eye Rolls
Slowly roll your eyes in complete or partial circles. Keep the eye muscles fully stretched at all times. Do this eye exercise for 3 minutes several times a day.
Eye Exercise #2: Clocking
Look at a far object and imagine you're in front of a giant clock with the far object at the center. Now slowly look in the 9 o’clock direction as far as possible for a few seconds. Then back to center.
Now slowly look in the 10 o'clock direction as far as possible for a few seconds, then back to center, then the 11 o'clock direction, then back to center. Make your way around the clock, slowly stretching your eye muscles. Do this eye exercise for 3 minutes several times a day.
How Much Improvement To Expect
If you do these eye exercise regularly, you can expect to see an improvement within a week or two. The eye exercises will make your eyes sore until the eye muscles are stretched out, so take a break for a day or two until the soreness subsides.
Author Information
Dr. Beresford is President of the American Vision Institute, which was founded in 1979 and is dedicated to research and development of vision therapy eye exercises. The American Vision Institute publishes the Power Vision Program, which was developed with Dr. Merrill J. Allen (Indiana University) and Dr. Francis A. Young (Washington State University) at www.visiontherapy.net .
Dr. Beresford can be contacted at visiontherapy.2020@yahoo.com
For more information about eye exercises please visit on http://www.visiontherapy.net/ |
