Effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height and tear film parameters

IF 5.6 1区医学 Q1 OPHTHALMOLOGY

Ocular Surface Pub Date : 2025-02-05 DOI:10.1016/j.jtos.2025.02.003

Reiko Arita , Shima Fukuoka , Ray Matsumoto , Minako Kaido

{"title":"Effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height and tear film parameters","authors":"Reiko Arita , Shima Fukuoka , Ray Matsumoto , Minako Kaido","doi":"10.1016/j.jtos.2025.02.003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Purpose</h3><div>Blinking is an involuntary movement essential for ocular surface health and visual comfort. While blinking exercises in patients with dry eye have been shown to improve symptoms, increase non-invasive tear film breakup time (NIBUT), and decrease incomplete blink rate (IBR), no studies have quantified improvements in eyelid opening. This study evaluated the effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height (PFH), subjective symptoms, and tear film-related parameters.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Participants were randomly assigned to a “blinking exercise group” that performed blinking exercises after instilling artificial tear drops five times daily for three days or control group that only used artificial tear drops. Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores were recorded for dryness, eye strain, ocular discomfort, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, dullness, and difficulty in opening the eyelids. The pre- and post-study measurements included lipid layer thickness, PFH, blink interval, IBR, tear meniscus height, NIBUT, fluorescein staining, and fluorescein breakup time (FBUT).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Among 100 participants (28 males, 72 females, mean age 38.4 ± 7.4 years), 52 were in the blinking exercise group and 48 were in the control group. The blinking exercise group showed significant improvements in SPEED (<em>P</em> < 0.001), VAS scores for eye strain and discomfort (<em>P</em> = 0.003, 0.007), enlarged PFH (<em>P</em> < 0.001), prolonged NIBUT and FBUT (<em>P</em> < 0.001), and reduced IBR (<em>P</em> < 0.001) compared to the controls.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Blinking exercises improved PFH, incomplete blinking, tear film stability, and subjective symptoms in patients with dry eye.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54691,"journal":{"name":"Ocular Surface","volume":"36 ","pages":"Pages 237-243"},"PeriodicalIF":5.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ocular Surface","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1542012425000266","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

Blinking is an involuntary movement essential for ocular surface health and visual comfort. While blinking exercises in patients with dry eye have been shown to improve symptoms, increase non-invasive tear film breakup time (NIBUT), and decrease incomplete blink rate (IBR), no studies have quantified improvements in eyelid opening. This study evaluated the effects of blinking exercises on palpebral fissure height (PFH), subjective symptoms, and tear film-related parameters.

Methods

Participants were randomly assigned to a “blinking exercise group” that performed blinking exercises after instilling artificial tear drops five times daily for three days or control group that only used artificial tear drops. Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores were recorded for dryness, eye strain, ocular discomfort, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, dullness, and difficulty in opening the eyelids. The pre- and post-study measurements included lipid layer thickness, PFH, blink interval, IBR, tear meniscus height, NIBUT, fluorescein staining, and fluorescein breakup time (FBUT).

Results

Among 100 participants (28 males, 72 females, mean age 38.4 ± 7.4 years), 52 were in the blinking exercise group and 48 were in the control group. The blinking exercise group showed significant improvements in SPEED (P < 0.001), VAS scores for eye strain and discomfort (P = 0.003, 0.007), enlarged PFH (P < 0.001), prolonged NIBUT and FBUT (P < 0.001), and reduced IBR (P < 0.001) compared to the controls.

Conclusions

Blinking exercises improved PFH, incomplete blinking, tear film stability, and subjective symptoms in patients with dry eye.

查看原文本刊更多论文

眨眼运动对睑裂高度和泪膜参数的影响。

目的：眨眼是一种无意识的运动，对眼表健康和视觉舒适至关重要。虽然干眼症患者的眨眼运动已被证明可以改善症状，增加非侵入性泪膜破裂时间（NIBUT），并降低不完全眨眼率（IBR），但没有研究量化眼皮打开的改善。本研究评估眨眼运动对睑裂高度（PFH）、主观症状和泪膜相关参数的影响。方法：参与者被随机分为“眨眼运动组”，每天5次滴入人工泪液后进行眨眼运动，持续3天；对照组只使用人工泪液。记录干燥、眼疲劳、眼不适、视力模糊、异物感、暗沉、睁眼困难的标准患者眼干涩评价（SPEED）和视觉模拟量表（VAS）评分。研究前后的测量包括脂质层厚度、PFH、眨眼间隔、IBR、撕裂半月板高度、NIBUT、荧光素染色和荧光素分解时间（FBUT）。结果：100例受试者中，男性28例，女性72例，平均年龄38.4±7.4岁，眨眼运动组52例，对照组48例。与对照组相比，眨眼运动组在SPEED （P < 0.001）、眼疲劳和不适VAS评分（P = 0.003、0.007）、PFH增大（P < 0.001）、NIBUT和FBUT延长（P < 0.001）和IBR降低（P < 0.001）方面均有显著改善。结论：眨眼运动可改善干眼症患者的PFH、不完全眨眼、泪膜稳定性和主观症状。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Ocular Surface 医学-眼科学

CiteScore

11.60

自引率

14.10%

发文量

审稿时长

39 days

期刊介绍： The Ocular Surface, a quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal, is an authoritative resource that integrates and interprets major findings in diverse fields related to the ocular surface, including ophthalmology, optometry, genetics, molecular biology, pharmacology, immunology, infectious disease, and epidemiology. Its critical review articles cover the most current knowledge on medical and surgical management of ocular surface pathology, new understandings of ocular surface physiology, the meaning of recent discoveries on how the ocular surface responds to injury and disease, and updates on drug and device development. The journal also publishes select original research reports and articles describing cutting-edge techniques and technology in the field. Benefits to authors We also provide many author benefits, such as free PDFs, a liberal copyright policy, special discounts on Elsevier publications and much more. Please click here for more information on our author services. Please see our Guide for Authors for information on article submission. If you require any further information or help, please visit our Support Center