Exploring the Effect of Trataka (A Yogic Cleansing Technique) and Cold Eye Pack on Eye Strain During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Three-Arm Trial.

Computer vision syndrome is a major global public health concern affecting >60 million individuals globally. Yoga and naturopathy practices can reduce visual fatigue and strain. The present study attempted to explore the effect of trataka that is, a yogic cleansing technique and cold eye pack on visual strain and fatigue. Three hundred volunteers from an IT company were recruited following inclusion and exclusion criteria. The subjects were randomly distributed in three groups, that is, trataka, cold eye pack, and waitlist control group with an allocation ratio of 1:1:1. Visual Fatigue Scale and Visual symptoms checklist (VSC) was administered at baseline and end of 2 weeks. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) with Bonferroni corrections was used to test the difference across the groups. All the variables were similar at the baseline among the groups. Significant changes in the within-group analysis occurred in both the trataka and cold eye pack groups. The RM-ANOVA revealed significant differences in the VAS and VSC ( = 0.001) and the analysis suggested that there were significant differences in both the trataka and cold eye pack group when compared with the control group ( = 0.001); however, there was no differences between the trataka and cold eye pack group in both the scales ( = 1). The results of the present study suggest that a trataka and cold eye pack for 14 days improves self-rated visual strain and fatigue among IT professionals with computer vision syndrome. CTRI/2020/11/029003.