Hi,
I was talking to a telephone consultation client today and while she contacted me for something different, she was also suffering from eye strain. She didn’t think muscles had anything to do with her tired eyes, or with the feeling that there was a tight mask across her head from one temple to the other, but muscles are definitely a part of the problem.
She was telling me that she had already been to her physician to make sure that nothing serious was happening in her head, and then she went to an eye doctor to have her eyes tested, and everything was okay in both areas. She was at a loss and only mentioned as as an aside during our conversation.
Your eyes move left and right, up and down, because of tiny muscles that attach to your eyeballs. Each of these muscles move your eyes in one direction, pulling your eyeball toward the insertion point of the muscle. However, when you read a lot, for example working on a computer for hours with your eyes moving back and forth rapidly, your muscles get fatigued. It’s just a repetitive strain of these tiny muscles, but they are never treated by anyone.
In my book, Treat Yourself to Pain Free Living, I give pictures and descriptions of how to treat these neglected muscles. Basically, just slide your fingertips along your eyeball, pressing back as far as you can comfortably go, and find tiny spasms that feel like little bumps that are painful. These will especially be found at the outside corner of your eye, and also on the top of your eye, directly above your iris.
Gently hold the pressure for about 30 seconds, then with tiny movements side-to-side, release the tension in the muscle. You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel. Personally, I’ve also found it helps release frontal headaches, and it feels like I can even see better when the tension is released.
Have a great day,
Julie