Eye sight and protection should be a major concern to all athletes
Do you wish you could cut a few strokes off your golf score? Does your child always seem to be just a few steps away from the soccer ball? Having trouble returning your tennis partner’s serve? Vision, just like speed and strength, is an important component in how well you play your sport.
There is much more to vision than just seeing clearly. Your vision is composed of many interrelated skills that can affect how well you play your sport. However, just as exercise and practice can increase your speed and strength, it can also improve your visual fitness and accuracy.
Because all sports have different visual demands, an optometrist with expertise in sports vision can assess your unique visual system and recommend the proper eyeglasses or contact lenses, or design a vision therapy program to maximize your visual skills for your specific sport. Remember, a thorough eye examination by your doctor of optometry is a great place to begin “getting the winning edge.”
PROTECTING THE EYES….The results of a 2001 study by Prevent Blindness America showed over 38,000 people experienced a sports related eye injury and needed emergency room treatment and, in some cases, even further attention. Some of the highest rates of eye injuries occur in children between the ages of 5 to 14. It’s also important to remember that even if an eye injury seems to be minor it may be serious. Loss of vision, severe pain or tenderness and cuts around the eye require immediate medical attention. Eye protection should also be a major concern to all athletes, especially in certain high-risk sports, in which, nearly all can be prevented by using the proper protective eyewear.
If your child plays a sport that requires a helmet or faceguard, don’t make the mistake of thinking your child’s eyes are protected from injuries. Your child’s eyes are still exposed to danger from sports equipment, or an opponent’s fingers penetrating the openings of a facemask. Likewise, if your child wears glasses, everyday fashion eyewear is not held to the same protective standards as regulation eyewear products labeled as protective eyewear for sports use. The lens in your child’s regular eyeglasses could easily pop out and puncture or cut the eye. A frame mangled from impact could also injure the eyes and ocular region of the face.
The good news is that you can help prevent your child from being sidelined because of a serious eye injury. You can make the decision to protect their eyes as well as the rest of their body by adding protective sport goggles to their equipment bag. While sport goggles provide significant protection, they cannot be guaranteed to be unbreakable nor can they guard against all foreseeable impacts. However, a quality pair of sport goggles, equipped with polycarbonate lenses, can be sight savers since they help keep eyes and surrounding ocular region safe. For kids who need corrective prescription lenses, Eyecare & Eyewear can make a pair of prescription lenses that fit into their sports goggle. Don’t wait for your child to become the next eye injury statistic…add protective sport goggles to their sports gear.
Excerpt’s provided AOA and Liberty sports.
