Eye Muscle Exercises Following Muscle Surgery

Eye muscle surgery can help you to see and focus better. One way to ensure that the surgery helps you long-term is to follow up the surgery with eye muscle exercises. Your doctor may show you eye muscle exercises, and several are simple to do on your own as soon as you get the go-ahead from your doctor to begin using the muscles of your eyes normally.

Looking Right to Left

• This simple exercise will help to exercise the muscles in both eyes. To do this properly, be sure that your eyes, not your head, are what is moving.
  To start, look as far to the right as you can. You'll feel the stretch of the muscles as you hold this stretch for three to four seconds before releasing.
  Next, move your eyes to the left as far as you can, feeling the pull of the muscles from the other direction, holding for three to four seconds. Repeat this exercise four times, breathing slowly and deeply as you feel the stretch.

Looking Up and Down

• This simple exercise will require that you keep your head still, moving only your eyes. Start by looking up as high as you can, for three to four seconds. Release this stretch and then look as far down as you can and hold for another three to four seconds. Each time you hold the stretch you will feel it, but it should not hurt. Repeat the up-and-down stretches four times.

Crossing Your Eyes

• This stretch will require that you keep your head still, moving only your eyes. Place your finger next to or near the tip of your nose. Look at your finger with both of your eyes until you are cross-eyed. When you feel the eye muscles stretching in this position hold it for three to four seconds, breathing deeply in and out. Release the stretch.

  Next, close your eyes and allow them to stay as relaxed as possible and uncrossed. Keep your eyes closed and relaxed for three to four seconds, breathing in and out slowly. Release. Open your eyes and repeat the whole sequence for a total of four sets.