Sports are an essential part of a child’s development. At the beginning of the season we want to set our child up for success. We get the best equipment and accessories. We want them to perform well, but we also just want them to be safe. How often do we forget the most important aspect of athletic performance, our child’s vision? Optimizing vision has been shown to improve performance and reduce injury.
Eye Injuries
The most common cause of eye related injuries in children between the ages 5 and 14 are sports related. The CDC estimates 25,000 -30,000 eye related emergency room visits every year. Baseball, basketball, and racquet sports tend to be the most common sports for eye injuries. Additionally, sports related concussions are on the rise and these concussions can have long lasting impact on vision.
What Can Be Done?
Routine eye exams not only evaluate acuity, but they test depth perception, tracking ability, and peripheral vision, all of which improve performance and decrease the likelihood of injury. If a child is deemed to have a prescription the options include Sports goggles or contact lenses. Additionally, children with and without prescriptions ALL benefit from sports vision training.
Goggles, Contacts, Sports Vision Training Oh My!!!
Ideally, every athlete should be in contact lenses. Wearing contacts instead of glasses increases peripheral vision, are less likely to fall off or break, and do not fog up or become cloudy in athletic competition. Dr. Lillie believes any child that is responsible enough to properly care for the contacts is a candidate, there is no minimum age.
Sports goggles are a popular option for patients who cannot wear contacts, and polycarbonate lenses with anti-fog coatings that are impact and shatter resistant are advised rather than regular glasses. These goggles have special straps that reduce the likelihood of falling off, are compatible with helmets, and are impact tested.
Sports vision training is for ALL athletes, whether they wear glasses or not. It is specialized training that focuses on aspects of vision other than how well you can see a target. These include reaction time, tracking objects, depth perception, and peripheral awareness. The tasks not only improve athletic performance, they are also shown to reduce injuries such as concussions.
