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Weightlifting May Increase Glaucoma Risk
If you are a regular weightlifter perhaps you should bear in mind that you could be increasing your chances of developing glaucoma, a condition that can make you blind, say Brazilian researchers.
The scientists found that weightlifting is associated with a temporary increase in intraocular pressure (pressure inside the eye). Introcular pressure is raised further if the person holds his/her breath during reps. This increase in pressure inside the eye raises the risk of developing glaucoma.
Reps = repetitions of an exercise. The total repetitions done in one go is called a Set. A person may do '3 sets of 7 reps of a bench press exercise')
You can read about this study in the journal Archives of Ophthalmology.
When air is forced against a closed windpipe (Valsalva manoeuvre) pressure inside the eyeball tends to go up. Valsalva manoeuvre commonly occurs when a person coughs, vomits, plays a brass wind instrument (trumpet) and does heavy weightlifting.
Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, cycling and swimming is usually followed by a fall in intraocular pressure. In fact, even non-aerobic exercise, such as weightlifting is also followed by a drop in intraocular pressure. The difference is that during the act of heavy weightlifting intraocular pressure can go up.
The scientists did research on 30 weight-training men. None of the men at the start of the study had any signs of glaucoma. All of them had normal intraocular pressure (<21 mm of mercury).