An interventional study of Yogic eye exercise programme in Computer Vision Syndrome, Asthenopia and Eye Strain, sponsored by King Saud University. Completed at 1 site in Saudi Arabia. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 22 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-29.
Sponsored by King Saud University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is a cluster of eye and musculoskeletal complaints - dryness, redness, blurred vision, foreign body sensation, excessive tearing, and neck, shoulder or back pain - that arises from prolonged work at a digital display. It is common among university students, and optical, pharmacological and nutritional treatments have given inconsistent results. Yoga-based eye exercises have been proposed as a brief, inexpensive alternative that requires no equipment.
This study tested whether a short, structured programme of yogic eye exercises reduces self-reported CVS symptoms in female undergraduates in a graphic design and digital media programme, a group whose coursework demands sustained, colour-critical near work at a screen.
All 36 female students enrolled in the programme took part. Each attended one supervised training session and then performed a 13-minute sequence of relaxation exercises (slow blinking, gazing at a distant target, acupressure around the eyes) and strengthening exercises (eye rolling, nose-tip gazing) three days a week for four weeks, a total of 12 sessions, reporting completion of each session on the same day.
Nine symptoms - five ocular and four musculoskeletal - were rated on a four-point scale (never, rarely, sometimes, always) at the start and again at the end of week 4. The main question was whether the average of all nine ratings fell over the four weeks. Every participant served as her own comparison; there was no control group and no masking.
Design. Single-arm, pre-post interventional study in which each participant served as her own control, conducted in the Graphic Design and Digital Media programme of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. No control group was recruited and no masking was applied.
Participants. All 36 female students enrolled in the programme were invited and all agreed, so the convenience sample was a complete enumeration of the eligible cohort. The programme admits female students only. All participants were in the 18-22 year age band.
Intervention. Participants were trained in a single supervised group session before baseline and given written and illustrated instructions. Each session comprised relaxation exercises (slow blinking; gazing at a fine detail of a distant target; acupressure massage of periocular points) followed by strengthening exercises (eye-rolling movements; nose-tip gazing, in which the participant focuses on the extended thumb, moves it slowly toward the nose tip, holds for five seconds and moves it away). The combined sequence took approximately 13 minutes and was performed three days per week for four consecutive weeks, giving 12 sessions in total. After the training session participants practised independently and reported completion of each session the same day in a monitored group thread, so adherence was verified session by session rather than recalled at the end.
Assessment. Symptoms were assessed with an adapted electronic questionnaire administered at baseline and at the end of week 4. The instrument was developed by reviewing validated instruments in the literature, refining items with subject-matter experts and pilot testing in six female students. It recorded demographic details, medical history relevant to ocular surface dryness, habitual computer use, and nine symptom items each rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = always). The identical instrument and platform were used at both time points.
Analysis. The primary outcome, the total symptom score, and the two domain scores were compared with the paired-samples t-test, with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test reported alongside where normality was not supported; item-level differences were tested with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Because nine item-level comparisons were made, p-values were adjusted by the Holm-Bonferroni procedure. No data were imputed and no subgroup or interaction analyses were performed. Sample size was calculated before recruitment in G*Power 3.1 for a two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test (one sample, normal parent distribution) with an effect size of d = 0.5, alpha 0.05 and power 0.80, giving 35 participants; all 36 eligible students were enrolled and 34 provided paired data.
Registration. This record was created retrospectively, after data collection was complete. The study was investigator-initiated and approved by the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Institutional Review Board on 20 December 2020, before the first participant was enrolled on 15 March 2021. The eligibility criteria, intervention and outcome measures recorded here are those of the approved protocol. That protocol specified a pre-post comparison of the symptom scores but did not designate a single primary outcome; the total symptom score was designated as the primary outcome at registration. The protocol also listed at least six hours of daily computer use as an inclusion criterion; this criterion was not applied at enrollment.
67 studies on the registry are indexed under Asthenopia; 10 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 36 is below the median of 56 across 56 interventional studies indexed under Asthenopia.
Browse Asthenopia studies →King Saud University is the lead sponsor of 169 studies on the registry; 21 are open to participants now.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
All participants received the same intervention: a 13-minute session of yogic relaxation and strengthening eye exercises, performed three days per week for four consecutive weeks (12 sessions).
Behavioral: Yogic eye exercise programme
A 13-minute sequence performed three days per week for four consecutive weeks (12 sessions in total). Relaxation component: slow blinking; gazing at a fine detail of a distant target; acupressure massage of periocular points. Strengthening component: eye-rolling movements; nose-tip gazing (focus on the extended thumb, move it slowly toward the nose tip, hold five seconds, move away; repeat twice, approximately 25 seconds per cycle). Delivery: one supervised group training session before baseline, written and illustrated instructions, then independent home practice with same-day reporting of each completed session in a monitored group thread.
Change from baseline in total symptom score at week 4
Arithmetic mean of all nine self-reported symptom items - five ocular (eye dryness, red eye, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, excessive tearing) and four musculoskeletal (shoulder pain, back pain, loss of sensation in the fingers, loss of sensation in the hands) - each rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = always). The total score ranges from 1 to 4; lower scores indicate fewer symptoms. Collected by self-completed electronic questionnaire.
Time frame: Baseline and week 4
Change from baseline in ocular symptom domain score at week 4
Mean of five self-reported ocular symptom items - eye dryness, red eye, foreign body sensation, blurred vision and excessive tearing - each rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = never to 4 = always). The domain score ranges from 1 to 4; lower scores indicate fewer symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline and week 4
Change from baseline in muscular symptom domain score at week 4
Mean of four self-reported musculoskeletal symptom items - shoulder pain, back pain, loss of sensation in the fingers and loss of sensation in the hands - each rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = never to 4 = always). The domain score ranges from 1 to 4; lower scores indicate fewer symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline and week 4
Change from baseline in each individual symptom item at week 4
Each of the nine symptom items analysed separately: eye dryness, red eye, foreign body sensation, blurred vision, excessive tearing, shoulder pain, back pain, loss of sensation in the fingers, loss of sensation in the hands. Each is rated on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = never to 4 = always); lower scores indicate fewer symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline and week 4
Baseline screen-use behaviour
Descriptive characterisation of daily computer use (less than 1, 1-3, 4-6, more than 6 hours), daily screen viewing in darkness (same bands), and whether computer use was continuous or interrupted by breaks
Time frame: Baseline
Plan to share: Yes — The de-identified participant-level dataset and the analysis code that support the findings are held by the corresponding author.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Clinical study report, Analytic code
Time frame: Available on request from the date of publication, indefinitely.
Access criteria: Requests should be directed to the corresponding author and will be considered on reasonable scientific grounds.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Mar 2021 to primary completion in Apr 2021, 1 month.
Of 31 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Asthenopia, half reached primary completion within 3 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 2 and three quarters within 9. This study's 1 month is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 38 studies reached it within 3 months; a quarter within 2 and three quarters within 9.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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