If you are one of those die-hard fans of weight lifting, think again. According to a study, holding your breath while weightlifting may cause temporary increase in the eye pressure that could lead to one form of glaucoma. The increased eye pressure damages the optic nerve thet may lead to sight loss or possible blindness.
The researchers at the Catholic University of Brasilia reached the conclusion after experimenting on 30 men aged between 18 and 40, whose eye pressures were measured while they were bench pressing.
None of them had glaucoma, but the study found that the eye pressure increased when they were breath-holding, which is done as a part of the training.
Normal-tension glaucoma is more common in people who are subjected to frequent changes in the eye pressure. It is also more common among those who play high-resistance wind instruments or those who suffer from asthma or intestinal or urinary tract obstructions that increases the eye pressure.
“Prolonged weightlifting could be a potential risk factor for the development or progression of glaucoma. Intermittent intraocular pressure increases during weightlifting should be suspected in patients with normal-tension glaucoma who perform such exercises” the authors concluded.
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