Weak Eye Muscles: Best Exercises To Treat Them

Weak Eye Muscles

Ever wondered how do you get to move your eyes in all directions? The movements of your eyes are controlled by six muscles. These muscles let the eyeball move in diverse directions- upward, downward, left, and right, and even let them roll. Weak eye muscles cannot hold the eye in one place.

The names of these muscles are the superior rectus, inferior rectus, medial rectus, lateral rectus, inferior oblique, and superior oblique. To move your eyeball quickly these muscles need to be healthy. Several factors can affect the contraction of these muscles.

Symptoms Of Weak Eye Muscles

A person with weak eye muscles may suffer from double vision, blurred vision, and eye fatigue. The fact that life nowadays is so computer-driven, may cause eye strain and weak eye muscles. Eye muscle weakness can cause problems like late or unfocused vision because the eye muscles don’t let the eyeball stay in one place.

In a person with weak eye muscles, you can see the non- coordination between both the eyeballs, their movements won’t synchronize with each other. This can lead to eye strain and weak eye nerves as well.

• Blurry vision
• Eye fatigue
• Double vision
• Headache

What Causes Weak Eye Muscles

There could be several reasons that can cause weak eye muscles, mostly related to your lifestyle. One specific reason could be hereditary. If someone from your family has weak eye muscles, there are high chances you may suffer from it too. You cannot help with congenital diseases but some causes can be worked upon for example-

Exposure to harmful light

When your eyes are exposed to too bright light, too often, eye damage is possible. Harmful rays like ultraviolet (UV) rays can also affect our eyes. A person exposed to harmful light rays should always wear protective eyeglasses.

Using low-quality makeup

Be careful while applying something to your face or eyes. Using too much makeup of low quality is harmful to your eyes. Many people don’t realize it and use expired makeup that leaves your vision disturbed.

Excessive Exposure to screen

If your work is related to the computer and you have to stare at a digital screen all day, then it is tiresome for your eyes muscles. Kids nowadays are staring at the TV and phone most of the time. Such a lifestyle can lead to weak eyesight. But life is technology-driven and you cannot ignore the importance of it. The least you can do is give break to your eyes from time to time.

Avoiding Eye Examination 

An ophthalmologist suggests getting your eyes examined annually. Do not take it lightly, especially when you already wear spectacles or contact lenses. Eye power keeps fluctuating; do not wear old contact lenses for years without getting your eyes checked up in between.

Excessively Rubbing Your Eyes

This may surprise you but rubbing your eyes can damage the nerves of your eyes rather than comforting them. Rubbing your eyes excessively means spreading the bacteria and dust particles into them which is harmful to your eyes in the long run.

Exercises For Weak Eye Muscles

Blinking

Blinking is one basic exercise for relieving your eye muscles. This simple exercise improves your eye’s overall health, by keeping your eyes moist and by resisting the entry of germs. And if you are a digital screen user, it’s a good form of exercise. Blink after every 10 seconds.

Shift your focus

Use the 20/20/20 rule for shifting your focus exercise. Look 20cm away, for 20 seconds, after every 20 minutes. This will not only soothe your eye muscles but will also improve your vision and protect you from other eye disorders. If your work is screen-related then shift your focus on far objects or vice versa.

Rolling eyes

When you don’t move your eyes here and there. And focus at a specific place for a prolonged time with a certain angle then our eye muscles become stiff. To avoid it roll your eyes once in a while. Also, rotate your eyeball in the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction one by one.

Flexing

Flexing makes your eye muscles move in different directions. Just like stretching move our body’s muscles. Sit or stand straight with your head facing forward. Now move your eyeball without moving your head in upward or downward, and left or right direction. Do this around 10 times from time to time.

Palming

Cover your eyes with your hands without putting any pressure on them and blink a few times. This exercise is really helpful if you work on the computer all day.

Sleep on time

The easiest and efficient way to give some rest to your eyes is by sleeping. Ensure you sleep on time for 7-8 hours.

Food For Weak Eye Muscles

A healthy diet is a cure for every health-related issue. Even eye-related problems can be cured with a plate full of nutrients if consumed regularly. Your eye muscles can remain healthy for a long time if you eat the required vitamins and minerals. You can go for vitamin C & E-rich fruits, omega o-3 fatty acids, zeaxanthin, and copper.

• Nuts and seeds – cashews, peanuts, and walnuts are the healthiest of all dry fruits. Chia seeds, flax seeds are full of omega-3 and are available on market.
• Fish – fishes like tuna, salmon bodies contain oils that are rich in omega-3.
• Fruits – fruits like oranges and grapes have a good amount of vitamins. These help in fighting age-related eye damage like weak eye muscles.
• Leafy green vegetables – well known and easily available leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale are rich in both lutein and zeaxanthin and vitamin-C as well.
• Eggs – give an egg a permanent place on your plate because it has all the essential vitamins for your whole body. It prevents sight loss due to ageing as well.
• Fluids – keep drinking healthy fluids like vegetable and fruit juices to provide nutrients and water to your eyes simultaneously. Water plays an essential part in keeping your eye health intact.

Eye Disorders Related To Weak Eye Muscles

Lazy eye

Amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’ occurs when one of the eyes works better than another one. Like your brain only focuses on the signals of your one eye and ignores the other. In this disorder, one eye becomes weak causing in-synchronicities between both the eyes.

Ophthalmoplegia

Ophthalmoplegia is an eye disorder in which the eye muscles weaken or gets paralyzed. One or more eye muscles can be affected in this condition.

Diplopia

Nonaligned eye muscles can cause diplopia in which you will see two images of the same object. When you look at anything with weak eye muscle you see double which is also called double vision.

Medicines for weak eye muscles- medicines to treat weak eye muscles are usually anti-ageing nutrients. Eye cream, eye drops can help in treating weak eye muscles. Some of the medicines for weak eye muscles are-

• Healthvitan Bilberry Lutein Zeaxanthin Tablet
• Sebamed anti-ageing Q10 Lifting Eye Cream
• Willmar Schwabe Germany Cineraria Maritima Eye Drop