Are you an athlete? For many, when one imagines an athlete, participants of a team sport, such as baseball, basketball, or soccer, come to mind. To others it may be the avid runner, golfer, or tennis player. You may not have considered yourself an athlete, but if you drive an automobile, enjoy photography, paint, cross stitch or are involved in other hobbies or activities, you most likely are utilizing many of the fine visual skills common to athletes. Most all can benefit from increased visual awareness.
Sports vision is a specific discipline of optometric practice focused on the evaluation, remediation, and enhancement of the visual performance of athletes. Sports vision optometrists provide special vision services and materials to help patients maximize their visual abilities, enabling them to perform and enjoy their sport to the fullest.
Through sports vision training many visual abilities can be improved. Increased depth perception, peripheral awareness, eye-hand coordination, ability to track a moving object, and being able to concentrate and perform consistently, even when under pressure, are a few examples. Protective and specialty eyewear is also an important consideration in the sports vision examination. Not only can it be crucial for safety but often can be a key to maximum performance.
If you would like to improve your game, sport, recreational hobby or activity, ask your optometrist to learn how enhanced vision skills and/or materials could help.