In the 1920’s Dr. William Bates, an ophthalmologist, proposed the Bates technique to improve vision and reduce dependence on eyeglasses. Since that time, versions of his program have resurfaced every few years. These excercises include things like palming sunning, hydraulic therapy and focusing on distance and near targets.
People who are nearsighted or farsighted have a simple mechanical problem with their eyes. For a nearsighted person the optical elements of the eye are slightly too strong. These patients have an eye that is a little too long for its optics so the image falls in front of the retina. Exercises however will not change the shape of your eye in the same way that you can’t change the size of your skull through exercise. The length of the eye and the powers of the various structures that form the focusing elements of the eye will not change in response to exercise.
So why do some people seem to claim an amazing cure from these vision improvement methods. Accommodative spasm is basically a cramp in the focusing mechanism of the eye. This cramp adds power to the eye and makes the patient appear to be more nearsighted. Younger patients often tolerate this overcorrection surprisingly well and sometimes wind up with glasses that are too strong for the physical length and focusing power of their eye. Exercises can improve the prescription for these patients because the exercises act almost like massage of the focusing mechanism. As the lens relaxes the eye seems to loose its nearsightedness. Most optometric patients however are not over corrected so exercise will rarely help.
Exercises can also help improve the subjective “feel” of your vision by improving the eyes ability to change focus rapidly and work together more precisely. These exercises can improve comfort for extended focusing tasks like computer use or extended reading.
One simple exercise is called a jump focus exercise. Simply cut out the jump focus test target below, then holding the target as close to your eyes as possible focus sharply on the letter A then at a distance target (20 feet or greater) then to the letter L and so forth.
Obviously any 20 letters will do, and you don’t need $300 dollars worth of videotape to do this exercise. The main thing is to keep the target as close as possible while keeping the letters clear and single. Repeat this 3 times in one session and do three sessions per day. Initially, most patients experience some eyestrain when this exercise is performed properly. Usually at about two weeks they notice an improvement in comfort for near tasks. It is important however to continue for six full weeks in order to achieve a lasting effect from this simple exercise. .
