Where is the orbicularis oculi muscle and how does it affect the shape of the eye?
The orbicularis oculi is a round muscle that circumscribes the eyeball. Your eyelid is actually part of this muscle. As you can see, the orbicularis oculi has a hole in it through which your eyeball protrudes just a bit. When the total muscle tension in a person’s body reaches a level to affect the shape of the orcularis oculi, then pressure on the eyeball results and visual distortion is created. Relieve pressure in this muscle and the visual distortion will be reduced or eliminated. Q: You must be talking about a very small amount of muscle tension A: Yes, the muscle tension in any one given area of the body is very slight, but the overall affect is much greater. When a muscle contracts, it gets shorter. Unless a muscle is completely relaxed, it will remain slightly shorter than it’s fully relaxed length. When a muscle is tense, it pulls on surrounding muscles. This tension “adds up”, and the net effect of total body tension is much greater than the tension in any one given muscle ar
