Pencil push-up “The economical and easy answer to symptomatic convergence insufficiency”

To determine the effect of home based pencil push-up exercise for patients having symptomatic convergence insufficiency.

In this prospective interventional study 62 patients between the ages of 6 to 23 yrs diagnosed of having convergence-insufficiency were enrolled. Patients’ pre exercise duration of symptoms, refractive errors, distant & near deviation angles & near point of convergence noted at baseline & at each subsequent visit. Follow up of 16 weeks was done (0, 4, 8, 12, and 16).Patients were given a strict exercise protocol (10 mins 3 times a day) under the observation.

Mean age of patients ranged from 16± 7.7 yrs with a male: female ratio 1.3:1. At baseline Mean deviation of angle at distance was 3.1±1.6PD & at near 10.5±2.4PD. The near point of accommodation was within normal limit for the age. After 16 weeks of exercise mean angle of deviation became orthophoric at distant and reduced to 3.8±1.4 PD at near. At study endpoint (16 wks) Near point of convergence became 13.8±5.1cm from 26.1±7.2cm at baseline. This improvement was statistically significant (p=0.0001).

Home based pencil push-up exercise proved to be a cost free & easy therapy for patients with symptomatic convergence insufficiency during the study period.