Relationship Between Post-Exercise Changes in the Lens and Schlemm’s Canal: A Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Study

ABSTRACT

Aim: To observe post-exercise changes in the lens and Schlemm’s canal (SC) in healthy individuals using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT).

Methods: Thirty-five healthy, young individuals were recruited and performed aerobic exercise by jogging for 20 minutes. The SC area, SC perimeter, trabecular meshwork (TM) length, TM thickness, lens vault (LV), and lens thickness (LT) were assessed by SS-OCT before and after exercise.

Results: Following aerobic exercise, SC area (4260.85 ± 1476.02 vs. 5158.24 ± 1527.42 μm², p < 0.001), SC perimeter (349.21 ± 62.22 vs. 391.24 ± 71.77 μm, p < 0.001), TM length (781.16 ± 114.83 vs. 816.46 ± 121.26 μm, p < 0.001), and TM thickness (111.52 ± 19.30 vs. 116.96 ± 17.57 μm, p = 0.004) increased significantly, while LV (−0.134 ± 0.198 vs. −0.195 ± 0.198 mm, p < 0.001) decreased significantly and LT showed no significant post-exercise changes (3.86 ± 0.32 vs. 3.85 ± 0.32 mm, p = 0.801). Moreover, post-exercise changes in SC area were significantly associated with post-exercise changes in LV (β = −6487.83; p = 0.040).

Conclusions: Aerobic exercise induces both backward axial displacement of the lens and SC expansion. This backward axial displacement of the lens could be an important causative factor of the post-exercise SC expansion via the lens-zonular-ciliotrabecular vector and the connecting fibrils between ciliary body and SC.

KEYWORDS:

• Exercise
• lens displacement
• lens-zonular-ciliotrabecular vector
• Schlemm’s canal
• swept-source optical coherence tomography

Acknowledgments

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Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

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The authors report no commercial relationship existed in the form of financial support or personal financial interest.