Diplopia is the medical term for double vision, and the oculomotor nerve or third cranial nerve can affect four muscles involved in diplopia. Oculomotor diplopia causes outward and downward turning of the eye and an inability for vision to cross the midline, according to Healthcare.com. There are a variety of causes and treatment for diplopia but oculomotor exercises can frequently improve vision and muscle strength.
Smooth Eye Movements
Exercises that help you to develop smooth eye movements are an important part of vision exercises. The Marsden Ball is a baseball on a string that may be decorated with numbers or symbols. The ball is fixed to the ceiling so that the ball itself is at eye level and swung through different planes. You cover one eye at a time and track a point on the ball as it swings. Another visual attention and tracking exercise involves a string of beads. You hold one end to the tip of your nose and extend the string outward. You focus on the farthest bead that you can see in single form and fixate upon it. Then you focus on the next bead closer to you until you can see the bead closest to you in one image.
Saccadic Eye Movement Exercises
Saccadic eye movement is fast movement that you use when you scan. In four-corner saccades, you sit in the center of a room. A helper stands behind you and shines a flashlight into different corners of the wall you face and you try to fixate on the light as it moves without excessively moving your head. Another saccadic exercise for oculomotor diplopia is Michigan Tracking. You scan a jumble of nonsense words and circle each letter of the alphabet in order as you see the letters from A to Z.
Monocular Vision Exercises
Monocular accommodative pushups can help decrease double vision, according to Pacific University Oregon. You take some reading material and hold it at arm's length, then slowly move it closer until your vision doubles. You then return the reading material to arm's length and begin again for five minutes, three times a day, blocking one eye and then the other.
Flippers are another tool that can improve oculomotor diplopia. You cover one eye and place a plus/minus lens over the other. You read with the uncovered eye at normal distance, and then read a sentence with the lens first flipped to the plus side, then with the lens flipped to the minus side. Continue the exercise for 10 minutes for each eye and work your way up to 20 minutes over time.
Preventing Secondary Contractures
Secondary contractures are the nerve and muscle problems that occur because of trying to accommodate for oculomotor diplopia. There are a number of exercises that prevent secondary contractures. Alternate occlusion involves covering one eye for several hours each day with a patch and then switching the patch to the other eye. This forces the uncovered eye to move through the full range of motion. Another way to prevent secondary contractures is to turn your head an inch or so to one side and then the other when watching television for a half an hour several times a day.
References
- "Pacific University Oregon:" Review of Management Strategies for the Diplopia Patient; Richard London, MA, OD (2011)
- "American Academy of Optometry (British Chapter):"Anomalies of Convergence Investigation and Treatment; Simon Barnard, PhD; (2011)
- "AARP Healthcare:" Visual Disturbances; Agnieszka Maria Lichanska, PhD; (2005)
