Effects of eye exercises of acupoints on visual symptoms and tear film stability in dry eye patients

Abstract

Background To explore the therapeutic benefits of eye exercises of acupoints (EEA) for dry eye disease. Methods This study was divided into three groups, which were dry eye without EEA group, dry eye with EEA group and pre-clinical dry eye with EEA group. First, we assessed the improvement of symptoms in dry eye patients by evaluating the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire before and after EEA. Then, we studied the changes in the signs of dry eye before and after EEA, including Schirmer I test (SIT), fluorescein breakup time (FBUT), first and average non-invasive tear breakup time (F-NITBUT and A-NITBUT). Lipid layer thickness (LLT), number of total and incomplete blinks were measured by LipiView. Finally, we observed the difference of objective visual quality before and after EEA, namely MTF cutoff and Strayer ratio (SR). Results In dry eye with EEA group, OSDI scores decreased significantly after EEA (P < 0.05). FBUT, LLT after EEA increased significantly compared to preintervention (P < 0.05), F-NITBUT and A-NITBUT after EEA prolonged significantly compared to preintervention (P < 0.001), MTF cutoff and SR after EEA improved significantly compared to preintervention (P < 0.05). However, in this group, there was no increase in tear secretion and no change in blink frequency (P > 0.05). Besides, in the dry eye without EEA group, the above indicators did not show significant changes in both tests (P > 0.05). Conclusion The potential regulatory effect of EEA provides a good protective effect on visual symptoms of dry eye patients and actively promotes tear film stability. Trial registration This trial was registered in China Clinical Trial Center on June 19, 2023, registration number is ChiCTR2300072604.