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Eye Exercises for Esotropia

Esotropia, or exotropia, is a condition where a person's eye turns inward. It is a form of a condition called Strabismus in which the eyes do not align with one another. It can affect one or both eyes and often gives the affected person a "cross eyed" appearance. There are eye exercises that may serve as a non-surgical treatment to remedy the problem, if you meet certain criteria.

  1. Who Can Benefit from Eye Exercises

    • According to the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the only case in which eye exercises may help correct esotropia is when the patient has convergence insufficiency. This happens when a person is unable to converge her eyes to make focusing on an up-close object possible. If this is the problem, however, then there are some ways to correct it without surgery. If these methods do not work, or your esotropia is caused by another problem, then surgery may be the best option.

    Pencil Push-Ups

    • The Mayo Clinic recommends pencil push-ups as an exercise to correct esotropia. Perform the exercise by focusing on a single letter written on the side of a pencil while moving the pencil as close to the bridge of your nose as you can while remaining focused on the letter. Repeat this exercise up to 100 times per session. It is usually done for a few minutes per day, five days per week.

    Computer Vision Therapy

    • The Mayo Clinic also says that computer-based programs to help with focus and convergence problems may also be administered. The advantages are that they can be done at home easily and it provides the ability to track and print results, which can be shared with your eye doctor.
      The programs are often on-screen exercises, such as shapes or other objects that act as focus points that move in patterns to force the eyes to work together. Many types of computer vision therapy exist on the market, including several programs available online at Visiontherapysolutions.net.

    Prism Reading Glasses

    • Special glasses made with a built-in prism, making the eyes work harder to focus, are available to help exercise the eyes and rid them of convergence insufficiency. The glasses are not recommended as strongly as other exercises because they tend to tire the eyes and do not have as good results as other forms of exercises.

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