Despite the proven effectiveness of modern medical-based treatments, some patients will opt for a more holistic approach to managing their eye health. Glaucoma sufferers are no different. It’s natural to want to seek out alternative/adjuvant therapies. This could be due to concerns around side effects of medications or surgery, or that patients simply want to try anything that could potentially improve their condition.
So what of these other methods? Are they actually beneficial? And is there anything more than anecdotal evidence to support their merits? Below, we examine the latest research and its potential implications in terms of alternative/conjunctive therapies for glaucoma sufferers.
Antioxidants, herbal remedies, alcohol and even cannabis have been touted to lower IOP. However, none of these have passed clinical trials, and the potential side effects (namely with alcohol and cannabis) may outweigh any health benefits.
Exercise and a healthy lifestyle and diet (used alongside proven medical techniques) might be your best bet in terms of ensuring a positive outcome as a glaucoma sufferer. Studies have shown exercise can have a moderate impact on lowering IOP, although the correlation between this and the mitigation of glaucoma progression has yet to be proven.1
Certain meditation techniques have also been purported to have an effect on IOP. And although research in this area is still in its infancy, it seems there may be some truth to the claims.
Yoga for Eye Health?!
Many of us are familiar with yoga as a practice that can have beneficial implications for both physical and mental health. To dedicated practitioners, it may come as no surprise that pranayama diaphragmatic breathing exercises (simply put, yoga pranayama is a breath regulation technique) can lower IOP, and recent clinical studies appear to support this hypothesis.
In a randomized clinical trial of 90 patients suffering from primary open-angle glaucoma, IOP measured at one, three and six months was significantly reduced for patients in the YPDB (Yoga Pranayama Diaphragmatic Breathing) group compared with the control group. It should be noted these techniques were used in conjunction with eye drop medications. It was also a relatively small/ homogeneous study group (studies across a larger range of ages/demographics would be useful), and diurnal IOP measurements are known to fluctuate. Nonetheless, the findings are promising. In fact, the results were encouraging enough to warrant recommending pranayama diaphragmatic breathing exercises as adjunctive therapy for primary-open angle glaucoma sufferers.2
So does this mean as a glaucoma sufferer, we should immediately rush out and join our local yoga class? Well, not exactly. It’s important to remember yoga pranayama breathing exercises have specific characteristics that help to relax the central nervous system, potentially leading to an increase in melatonin production and subsequent reduction in aqueous humor (the fluid which controls IOP) secretion. Not all yogic exercises have this effect. In fact, certain yoga positions (e.g., downward facing dog) can have the opposite impact, actually leading to a rise in IOP. Participants in the aforementioned study were provided with expert instruction from a qualified instructor.3
Could There Be Other Beneficial Yoga Practices?
Another yoga technique that may have an effect on IOP and subsequently be of benefit to glaucoma sufferers is tratak kriya. The practice of tratak kriya involves focussing the eyes on a particular point (usually a light like a candle or a lamp) for a prolonged period of time. This is said to help quiet the mind and improve concentration. Researchers have hypothesized that accommodative exercises (the process of adjustment of optical power to maintain clear vision) such as tratak kriya could lead to a reduction in IOP. But again, studies are lacking.4
One of the potential implications of these findings could be that alternative health treatments in general warrant further investigation and more rigorous research. Modern medicine is certainly not adverse to different/complementary treatment regimes. In fact, practitioners are generally open to encouraging any kind of activity which will improve patient outcomes. But they need to be backed up by solid data and proven peer-reviewed studies.
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus,” as Mark Twain once said. Or from the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: “When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is still, so is the mind still.”
References
- Hetherington J. Alternative Therapies for Glaucoma. Glaucoma Research Foundation. Available at: https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/alternative-therapies-for-glaucoma.php Accessed on 7 February 2022.
- Udenia H, Mittal S, Agrawal A, Singh A, Singh A, Mittal SK. Yogic Pranayama and Diaphragmatic Breathing: Adjunct Therapy for Intraocular Pressure in Patients With Primary Open-angle Glaucoma: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Glaucoma. 2021;30(2):115-123.
- Cramer H, Krucoff C, Dobos G. Adverse events associated with yoga: a systematic review of published case reports and case series. PLoS One. 2013;8(10):e75515.
- Sankalp, Dada T, Yadav RK, Faiq MA. Effect of Yoga-Based Ocular Exercises in Lowering of Intraocular Pressure in Glaucoma Patients: An Affirmative Proposition. Int J Yoga. 2018;11(3):239-241.
