Sports vision and Sports vision testing: How good the eyes of a Sportsman should be?

Elite athletes face intense visuo-motor demands requiring millisecond-level decision making to convert vision into action. Some crucial skills in competition are directly linked to the visual process. Sports Vision assessment is helpful to classify the areas of assessment in order to better understand how the factors affect performance

How good the eyes of a Sportsman should be?

Who Should Have a Sports Vision Testing/ assessment?

A Sports Vision Assessment is of benefit regardless of the sport you play. 

It is especially recommended for:

• Baseball/Softball
• Basketball
• Football
• Golf
• Hockey
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Tennis

The ball is only 3 in. in diameter, and the bat is only 2.25 in. in  diameter, which does not leave much room for error.

The batter has  only 100 millisec to “look” at the pitch and to extract information  about the spin, trajectory, and velocity of the ball all of which must

be completed within that short time.

The batter   then has 75 millisec  to “think” about the information just collected and calculate the location Of the ball as it approaches and crosses the plate.

The batter  then has 50 millisec to “decide” whether to swing or not.  Therefore, a swing has to be initiated after only 225 millisec from  first seeing the pitch or the batsman will not be able to get the bat  around fast enough to make successful contact with the ball.

As  a testament to how difficult it is to hit a baseball, it is the only sport  in which the player can fail 7 out of 10 times and still be considered  a hero and reach financial success.

For the batter   to be successful in the above example, several  aspects of the visual system, such as visual acuity, contrast  sensitivity, and binocular vision must be active and functioning at the highest level.

See Eye care list in our Eye Care directory

What is sports vision testing / sports vision assessment ?

A sports Vision testing includes sport-specific visual skills test which are not generally done in routine eye examination.

A sports Vision testing includes the following test

1. A test of Visual Acuity
2. A test of Visual Processing Speed and Hand-Eye Coordination
3. A test of Contrast Sensitivity
4. A test of Eye Tracking
5. A test of Ocular Alignment
6. A test of Eye Dominance
7. A test of Depth Perception
8. Accomodation

What are the benefits of sports and performance vision training?

Sport vision training aproaches provide another opportunity for the athlete to enhance vision and visual performance factors that are importante for their sport.

sports and performance vision training helps the athelete improve their vision and performance of their sport.

Your individual sports vision profile may be compared with the elite of your field and scope of improvements can be analysed.

The professional vision training coaches can then tailor the Vision training program to your specific needs and advice you appropriate correction.

What can a Sports Vision Doctor do for You?

1. A sports Vision doctor can prescribe you sport-specific frame design that improves peripheral vision and safety as well as specific lens designs that minimize distortion and provide edge-to-edge clarity in your lenses.
2. The sports vision doctors can take your sport-specific visual demands into consideration and prescribes specific lens designs to maximize visual performance during competition.
3. They can show vision training exercises and recommendations to improve sports vision 

What is contrast sensitivity in sports?

Contrast sensitivity, the ability to quickly identify and track objects  against various backgrounds and varying lighting levels.

If you have trouble seeing objects against a similar background, especially in low-light conditions, your sports vision eye doctor may recommend eyeglasses or contact lenses with specific lens tints to help increase visibility, or they may suggest custom optics in your glasses or contact lenses.

What is Accomodation of eye in sports?

Accommodation, or eye focusing, allows an athlete to keep the game in focus. The strength, speed and accuracy of accommodation are especially important when viewing objects moving at high speeds (such as a ball or puck) or when scanning the field of play.

What is Depth perception of eye in sports?

Depth perception is dependent on the ability to use both eyes together in a very precise manner. It gives you 3D perception of things and tells you its exact location.

If you underestimate the distance to your target, it may be due to poor depth perception. A sports vision checks the depth Perception and advice Visual exercise to correctit.

What is checked in Player’s Eye tracking Test?

A Player’s spatial awareness and visual attention is tested in an Eye tracking Test.

Sports often require an athlete to divide their visual attention between central objects (such as the ball) and peripheral objects (such as incoming defenders).

There are a number of Eye Tracking tests that your sports vision eye doctor can conduct to assess and improve how well your eyes follow moving objects.

What are the Eye exercises sportsman can be advised?

Following Eye exercises may be advised to sportsmen.

1. Focusing Exercises
2. Tracking Exercises
3. Vergence Exercises
4. Sequencing Exercises
5. Eye–Hand and Eye–Foot Coordination Exercises
6. Visualization Exercises
7. Directionality Exercises

Bibliography:

TheRoleofSportsVIsioninEYeCareToday-KirschenLaby

Recommended book :

Doctor Revien’s Eye Exercises for Athletes Sportsvision (amazon)