Our purpose was to examine the effect of a single lower body resistance exercise on intraocular pressure (IOP) in physically active, college-aged students. A secondary purpose was to determine whether males and females had similar IOP responses to the leg press exercise. Volunteers with IOP values of > 20 mm Hg, or those with eye problems other that the need for corrective lenses, were excluded from participation. 11 males and 10 females completed the study. Subject characteristics for the males were 22.4 + 1.6 yrs of age (mean + SD), height: 180 + 5.1 cm, weight: 77.2 + 8.8 kg; females 21.1 + 0.9 years of age, Ht: 165.2 + 4.9 cm, Wt: 67.5 + 16.5 kg. Subjects were instructed not to exercise prior to testing, and were asked to refrain from nicotine, caffeine, large quantities of fluids, or large meals prior to testing. On the first day of testing, one repetition maximum (1-RM) strength for the leg press was determined on Cybex VR equipment. On a subsequent day, subjects performed 3 sets of 10 repetitions of the leg press using a resistance of ~70% of 1-RM. If the subject could not complete 10 repetitions during the first or second sets, the resistance was decreased 4.5 kg for subsequent sets. IOP was measured using applanation tonometry with a Tono-PenTM XL (Medtronics/Solan, Jacksonville, FL) prior to the first set, following each set and 5 minutes after completion of the third set. Data were analyzed with a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures on IOP. Differences between groups were identified with paired LSD t-tests. P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. ANOVA showed that IOP changed as a result of performing leg press exercise. Since there was no statistically significant difference between males and females, and no IOP X sex interaction, data for males and females were pooled for further analysis. IOP after the first and second sets was not different from the pre-exercise IOP value (Pre-exercise: 13.8 + 2.6 mm Hg). IOP was reduced 10.9% (12.3 + 2.1 mm Hg) after the third set. Five minutes following exercise, IOP was not different from IOP immediately post-exercise. These data show that three sets of leg press exercise induce a decline in IOP, and suggest that resistance exercise may not be contraindicated in persons with elevated IOP.
Funded by a Mississippi State University, Research Initiation Project Grant # 257142 051700 022000.