Title: “Myopia should be undercorrected - myth or fact.”

Abstract

The management of myopia has long been a topic of significant interest and debate within the field of optometry and ophthalmology. One controversial approach is the undercorrection of myopia, where patients are deliberately left slightly nearsighted. This narrative literature review aims to evaluate the efficacy and implications of undercorrecting myopia, particularly in light of emerging evidence suggesting that it may actually lead to increased myopia progression.
Discussion:
Initial hypotheses proposed that undercorrecting myopia could slow its progression by maintaining a mild degree of myopic defocus, potentially signaling the eye to reduce axial elongation. However, a growing body of clinical evidence contradicts this hypothesis, indicating that undercorrection may, in fact, accelerate myopia progression.While analyzing the role of ciliary muscle tone in myopia progression different literature shows several factors like, According to Kaphle D et al. ciliary muscle tone causes myopia progression by thinning choroid, and also according to Bailey et al. Ciliary muscle thickening causes accommodative dysfunction which results in hyperopic defocus and leads to myopia progression. And accommodation can be in action because of under correction. Studies consistently show that patients who are undercorrected experience a greater rate of axial elongation and worsening of myopia compared to those who receive full correction. Additionally, undercorrection compromises visual acuity and can negatively impact daily activities and overall quality of life.
Conclusion:
The literature overwhelmingly suggests that undercorrection of myopia is not a beneficial strategy and may contribute to the progression of the condition. These findings challenge the initial theoretical basis for undercorrection and highlight the importance of fully correcting myopic refractive errors to manage myopia effectively. Hence, from this review it can be concluded that the baseline treatment for any refractive error cases is to give proper Refractive correction when accommodation is relaxed.

DOI - https://doi.org/10.65525/SVUP.978-81-999560-6-3.2026.72-80