The effects of exercise on intraocular pressure in pigmentary glaucoma patients

Previous studies of normal volunteers and open-angle glaucoma patients have shown that exercise temporarily lowers intraocular pressure. However, two case reports have described pigmentary dispersion syndrome patients who developed symptomatic increased intraocular pressure after exercise. We evaluated the intraocular pressure response to exercise in ten pigmentary glaucoma patients. An exercise protocol was designed to increase the likelihood of lens zonule-iris pigment epithelium contact. Intraocular pressure measurements during the first two hours after exercise showed no statistically significant elevation of mean intraocular pressure. The pressure rose 6 mm Hg and 7 mm Hg respectively at 15 minutes in two eyes, but returned to baseline by 30 minutes. Our results suggest that exercise may not significantly increase the clinical intraocular pressure in pigmentary glaucoma patients.