Yoga can be dangerous—glaucomatous visual field defect worsening due to postural yoga
- University Eye Clinic, Geneva, Switzerland
- Dimiter Robert Bertschinger, University Eye Clinic, 22 rue Alcide Jentzer, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland; dimiter.bertschinger{at}hcuge.ch
- Accepted 11 January 2007
The relationship between the head-down body position and increased IOP is well known.1–6 We present a 46-year old woman who presented with a worsening of glaucomatous visual field defects one year after starting to perform regularly a particular postural headstand yoga exercise, reversible after cessation of the exercise.
In 10 non-yoga-practising volunteers intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured by Tono-Pen in sitting and immediately after assuming a headstand position. A more than twofold increase of the IOP was measured in the headstand position. Therefore postural (head-down) yoga exercises are clearly not recommended for patients suffering from glaucoma.
Case report
A 46-year-old Caucasian woman followed at our clinic for a bilateral juvenile …
