What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to assess how different physical training types impact visual function in glaucoma patients compared to healthy controls.

April 22, 2026Clinical ophthalmology0 citationsOpen Access

Effects of Multimodal and Unimodal Physical Training Interventions on Visual Function in Glaucoma and Elderly Controls – A Pilot Study

CDCynthia Moffack DjulounUniversity Hospital Magdeburg KAKhaldoon Al-NosairyUniversity Hospital Magdeburg RBRosalie BeyerUniversity Hospital Magdeburg

Key Points

This research aims to assess how different physical training types impact visual function in glaucoma patients compared to healthy controls.
Conducted a randomized, controlled longitudinal pilot study.
Measured visual function through treadmill assessments and standard clinical parameters.
Compared effects of multimodal and unimodal training interventions over 12 weeks.
Overall improvements in visual function were minimal or non-significant after 12 weeks.
A significant interaction between time and intervention was noted for foveal sensitivity (p = 0.039).
Trends in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were observed but did not reach statistical significance.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 12-week multimodal motor-cognitive and resistance training (MMI) compared to a unimodal resistance training intervention (UMI) on static and dynamic visual function in glaucoma (GLA) patients and healthy controls (HC). Methods: Fifteen GLA and 24 age-matched HC participated in this randomized, controlled longitudinal pilot study. Visual function was assessed using clinical parameters and on a treadmill (TM) while standing (static, S 0 ) as well as during walking at 3.5 km/h (S 3.5 ) and a self-preferred speed (S Self ). The following outcomes were measured pre and post 12-weeks of intervention (MMI or UMI): (a) standard clinical measures and (b) TM-related measures, i.e.: 1) best-corrected visual acuity without (VA S ) and with crowding (VA C ); 2) visual field sensitivity (VF); and 3) contrast sensitivity (CS). A 4-factorial repeated-measures ANOVA (SPEED S 0 ; S 3.5 ; S Self × TIME pre; post × INTERVENTION UMI; MMI × GROUP GLA; HC) was applied to determine significant interaction effects (p ≤ 0.05) and the effect size partial-eta-squared was calculated. Results: Post-interventional improvement of visual function was absent or minor. Only the main effect of TIME (visual acuity; p = 0.024) and a TIME × INTERVENTION interaction (foveal sensitivity; p = 0.039) were found for standard clinical measures. For S 0 vs. S 3.5 small effects appeared in post-hoc comparisons, but TIME and TIME × SPEED just failed to reach significance for CS (p = 0.059) and VA s (p = 0.052), respectively. No GROUP interactions were observed. Conclusion: While trends were evident in this pilot study, the effect of the 12-week interventions on visual function was non-significant and, especially for TM-walking, largely independent of group and intervention type. In future studies, a greater sample size, with more advanced GLA cases, should be included to probe for significant visual function differences between groups and intervention types. Keywords: dynamic visual function, glaucoma, multimodal training, cognitive training, mobility

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