Exercise and glaucoma

Is exercise safe if you have glaucoma?           

            Glaucoma is a major cause of vision loss, second only to cataract on a worldwide basis. Although there are several causes of glaucoma most of them share a common feature: increased pressure of the fluid within the eyeball. Without treatment there is progressive damage to nerves that lead from the eye to the brain, eventually resulting in blindness. It affects roughly 1.5 to 3 percent of the population but the incidence among African-Americans is about 4 or 5 times higher. As we age our risk of glaucoma increases, especially for persons beyond the age of 80. Screening tests for glaucoma and other eye diseases should be done every two or three years after the age of 40, especially for African-Americans, with annual examinations beginning at age 60. 

            In years past there was some concern that vigorous exercise, because it causes the blood pressure to rise temporarily, might be harmful in persons with glaucoma. It’s clear from several studies that the fear is not justified. Exercise actually decreases the pressure within the eye in normal persons as well as in those with glaucoma. Brisk walking, jogging and resistance exercise using weights and machines have all resulted in lower pressure within the eyeball. Persons who are physically active throughout life tend to have a lower incidence of glaucoma as they become older although there are no long-term studies that show that exercise unequivocally protects against glaucoma. 

            Persons with glaucoma seldom have a sudden loss of vision. It may take years, even decades, for significant changes to occur. That stealthy, progressive deterioration in one’s ability to see clearly occurs in the other major eye diseases as well. Cataract, Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, all of which increase significantly after the age of 50, are easy to identify in a routine eye exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

            Although regular moderately intense physical activity may not postpone or prevent glaucoma, especially in persons with a genetic predisposition to it, exercise does help to prevent type 2 diabetes and its complications. We are in the midst of a worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes and it will soon overtake AMD as the leading cause of blindness in persons over the age of 65.

            Screening is especially important for persons with a family history of glaucoma, those who smoke and all obese persons.

            And exercise is nothing to be afraid of.