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Home > About us > Patient information and resources > Convergence Exercises Instructions

Convergence Exercises Instructions

This information is for patients who have been asked to do exercises to improve convergence. This leaflet is used with the Convergence Insufficiency (CI) leaflet. The exercises will be shown to you also by the Orthoptist.

If you usually wear reading glasses or a bifocal/ varifocal to read then the exercises should be done with these on. It is important for exercises to be done regularly for short periods four times every day, for five minutes at a time and give your eyes time to relax afterwards i.e. stare into the distance for a few seconds.

Convergence exercises with a pen/stick

  1. Hold a pen or stick an arm’s length away from you
  2. Bring this towards your nose keeping the item single and clear
  3. If it appears double, stop and try to make it single again.
  4. If you are unable to, then move it back until it is single and start bringing it in towards your nose again.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4
  6. You are aiming to be able to bring the pen or stick right up to your nose and only see one

Dot card exercises – card given by orthoptist

  1. Bend card lengthways along the central crease
  2. Hold dot card level at the end of your nose and tilt it downwards slightly.
  3. Look at dot furthest away from you and make it look single and clear – you will see one dot with the lines forming a V shape with the dot at the bottom of the V-shape
  4. Slowly look along the line to each of the other dots. As you progress the lines forming the V shape will start to form an X-shape with the dot in the centre of the X.
  5. If the dot you are looking at is double or appears unstable try hard to bring the dots together, if you are cannot do this go back one dot and try moving forwards again.
  6. You are aiming to be able to move through the dots, holding each one single to the count of five up to the dot closest to your nose.

Stereograms (Cat) – card given by orthoptist

  1. Hold card at arm’s length straight in front of you
  2. Hold a pen between you and the card and concentrate on looking at the pen.
  3. While looking at the pen you should see three images of the cat. If you see four are seen then adjust the position of the card until the middle two cats are joined.
  4. You should be able to see both the ears and tail on the middle image at the same time, hold this to the count of five.

Contact details

Appointments Office:

To change or cancel an appointment, call: 0191 282 4444 (option 3).

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (excluding Bank Holidays)

Children’s Eye Department:

To speak to an orthoptist about your treatment 0191 282 4434 

Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm (excluding Bank Holidays) The Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) can offer on-the-spot advice and information about the NHS. You can contact them on Freephone 0191 2825905 or email [email protected]