Training exercises are tailored to specific sports, and, generally, a training program is done during the preseason, 2 to 3 days a week for 20 to 30 minutes for at least 6 weeks, or six times a week for 20 to 30 minutes for 2.5 weeks. 3 That is, when an athlete practices, the nerves in the brain start networking and creating patterns so that movements become automatic.
7 Research shows that neurons that fire together are wired together. Research by Loran and Griffiths suggests that, if two athletes of similar caliber meet in competition, one of whom has a better trained visual system, the athlete with the enhanced visual system will perform better. Mena interacting with lightboard training tools attached to the wall (B) at a sports vision workshop. Richard Baird, OD (left), and Vittorio Mena, OD (right), holding strobe goggles (A) and Dr. Just as any good foundation starts at the base, we work up the vision pyramid to ultimately help the athlete excel visually on the field (Figure).įigure. Each of these is a crucial element in different sporting tasks, so they need to be addressed appropriately. This includes overall ocular health, static VA, DVA, contrast sensitivity, binocular vision performance, depth perception and stereopsis, accommodation, eye-hand and eye-body coordination, central peripheral awareness, color vision, and ocular dominance. When we assess an athlete, the health and accuracy of his or her visual system is of primary importance. Contrast sensitivity can be tested using the Vistech contrast test system, the Stereo Optical sine wave contrast test, and the Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity chart. Improving contrast sensitivity can help athletes detect white balls against different backgrounds. It has been reported that regular exercise across one’s lifetime helps maintain DVA, preventing age-related declines and probably enhancing neural plasticity. Training with a tachistoscope presentation can improve the concentration and attention that are crucial for athletic performance because it helps train the athlete to consciously recognize objects. DVA can be tested using a Kirschner rotator, Landolt rings that suddenly appear on the screen at a constant velocity, or a tachistoscope. DVA testing examines whether the test target or the athlete himself or herself is in motion. The other two types of VA testing are less frequently used.ĭVA testing is crucial for athletes involved with motion, especially goalkeepers, baseball players, and tennis players. Most eye care practitioners routinely test patients’ static VA using the standard Snellen chart at a distance of 20 feet. Optometrists should consider all three forms of VA (static VA, dynamic VA and contrast sensitivity) 4 when evaluating athletes. These include depth perception, eye tracking, eye coordination at both distance and near, fixation accuracy, color perception, sustained focus at both distance and near, peripheral awareness, gross visual-motor coordination, fine visual-motor coordination, three-speed visual recognition, visual perception, and visual localization. 2Īt least 15 vision-related skills are needed for great sports performance. Athletes who participate in visually demanding sports such as baseball, tennis, and hockey are believed to have faster smooth pursuits, the ability to suppress the vestibulo-ocular reflex and, from time to time, the ability to employ an anticipatory saccade.
2 At high speeds, vision during saccades is reduced due to saccadic suppression. Many sports require the athlete to follow a target at various speeds, a task that can involve up to four different types of eye movement: pursuits (125 ms), saccades (200 ms), vestibulo-ocular reflex, and vergence. Because 80% of all the sensory information sent to the brain is received visually, 1 visual information and visual processing play a big role in our everyday lives, from learning to sports performance. In all activities, visual information and visual processing govern our bodies’ movements. Every patient who walks into our examination lane should be considered a potential athlete. Patients of all ages now enjoy participating in sporting events such as biking, golfing, running, tennis, fishing, snowboarding, skiing, and playing in basketball, softball, and soccer leagues. Many patients today are conscientious about maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle that includes eating right, exercising, and being involved in sporting activities.
Sports vision performance testing and training can help athletes maximize efficiency and accuracy in order to play to the best of their ability.
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