How to Perform Pencil Pushups

Pencil push-ups are a visual exercise used to treat convergence insufficiency. If you suffer from convergence insufficiency, your eye muscles are weak, leaving you unable to focus on objects as you move toward them. The resulting faulty alignment can leave you with blurred vision, double vision, and headaches. Convergence insufficiency is most common in teenagers and young adults. Pencil push-ups serve to strengthen the eye muscles and gradually improve their ability to align with objects and each other.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil

Instructions

1. Hold a pencil, with the tip facing up, at arm's length in front of your face. Focus your eyes on the tip of the pencil.

2. Bring the pencil toward your nose slowly. Continue to focus on the pencil tip.

3. Note when instead of seeing one pencil, you see two pencils. Hold the pencil still and focus on it for 10 seconds.

4. Move the pencil slowly back to its original position.

5. Repeat the process for 1 minute.

6. Take a 1-minute break to rest your eyes.

7. Resume the pencil push-ups. Do three sets total of the pencil push-ups. Each set should consist of moving and focusing on the pencil for 1 minute and resting your eyes for 1 minute.

8. Repeat the three sets of pencil push-ups two to four times daily or as directed by your doctor.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not do more pencil push-ups than you are instructed to do by your optician. Too many pencil push-ups can strain your eyes.

References

• Convergence Insufficiency

Resources

• Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial
• American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus