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Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography of Retinal Circulation
Published on: September 18, 2012
Effect of exercise on intraocular pressure and pulsatile ocular blood flow in a young normal population
Emma L Price1, Lyle S Gray, Lyndsay Humphries
1Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland, UK. e.price@gcal.ac.uk
Purpose:
The hypotensive effect of exercise on intraocular pressure is well documented, however, little is known about the effect of exercise on pulsatile ocular blood flow. This study examines this effect and follows the recovery of intraocular pressure and pulsatile ocular blood flow after a standard exercise period.
Methods:
Eighteen visually normal subjects participated in a 4-min period of bicycle ergometry. Intraocular pressure and pulsatile ocular blood flow were measured by pneumotonometry before, immediately after exercise, and at regular intervals during the recovery period.
Results:
Intraocular pressure was found to decrease significantly with strenuous exercise and recovered gradually toward baseline over a period of 30 min. Pulsatile ocular blood flow increased significantly immediately after exercise then returned to baseline levels between 5 and 10 min after stopping exercise.
Conclusions:
This study confirms the hypotensive effect of exercise on intraocular pressure and shows that exercise significantly increases pulsatile ocular blood flow.
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