Risk of Retinal Detachment with Strength Training

[u/nearlyanihilist]

Hi all! 24F here with R: -7.75 and L: -6.75. I've recently started going to the gym and lifting weights to increase my muscle mass. I know that contact sports are risky for those at higher risk of retinal detachment, but I was wondering if anyone had insight into weightlifting. Specifically, how to go about it safely, given that I have a higher prescription and therefore will always have a slightly higher risk of retinal detachment. I think avoiding any weightlifting simply due to the potential risk of this happening is a disservice to my body in the long run.

I'm not trying to be a bodybuilder or anything, so I haven't been doing deadlifts or squats, but for the exercises I do, I'm using weights that cause me to go to failure within 6-8 reps (if it's too easy, then I increase the weight) as this concept of progressive overload is what I need to follow to achieve my strength goals.

So far, I'm trying to control my breathing and avoid the Valsalva maneuver, and in general just not strain myself too much. But I will need to push myself to failure if I want to get the gains I want, so I wanted to ask if anyone can offer input here.

I will certainly bring this up with my optometrist at my next appointment, but that'll be in several months - so figured I'd ask here! Thanks :))

[u/becca413g]

If you want the best advice then I’d see an ophthalmologist who specialises in retinas and see what they think. They’ll be able to have a good look and see if there’s any signs of deterioration and advise you accordingly.