Extraoccular muscles of eye

The extraoccular muscles are the muscles of the eye which control the movement of the eyes. They are located in the orbit and are extrinsic. Extraoccular muscles are divided in two groups recti and oblique muscles.

We always keep exercising the whole body but forget to exercise and strengthen our eye muscles which are constantly working. It’s important to work them out for better health of our eyes. Specially in the present times when we are spending so much time on screen, the importance of such exercises has increased manifold.

1. Zooming in and out– Hold a pen in your hand straight with its tip pointing between your eyebrows, focus your sight on that for one minute. Then at the same level, stretch your arm and hold the pen at one arm distance, focus your sight on the pen tip again for a minute. Repeat it 2-3 times.
2. Lateral -medial gaze-Move your eyeballs to extreme right, hold it there for 3 seconds, then move to extreme left, hold it for 3 seconds. Repeat this 15-20 times.
3. Upward-downward gaze-Move your eyeballs upward, hold it for 3 seconds, then move it downward, hold it for 3 seconds. Repeat this 15-20 times.
4. Diagonal gaze-Move your eyeballs diagonally(downwards outwards to upward inward and upwards outward to downward inwards). Repeat 15-20 times.
5. Rotation of the eyeballs-in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction, 10-15 times in each direction.
6. Palming– Rub the palms of your hands vigorously to generate heat and place the gently over your closed eyes and feel the warmth of the palms. It’s very relaxing to the eyes. Repeat it 3 times.

**For people exposed for long hours to computer screen-Follow 20-20-20 rule, where you rest your eyes every 20 minutes by looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds continuously.**

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