What Is Sports Vision Therapy?

Sports are reliant on vision. It helps athletes react, judge distances, and track movement. But not every athlete has perfect sight or knows how to use it to improve their performance. Sports vision therapy can help.

Sports Vision Therapy

Sports vision therapy is a training program that enhances athletes' visual skills. It improves various aspects of their vision to help them improve their performance.

 

Who Benefits From Sports Vision Therapy?

Sports vision therapy benefits all athletes—regardless of their level of performance or the sport they play. But it is more beneficial for those whose sports are reliant on vision. They include hockey, basketball, baseball, and tennis players.

Sports vision therapy also helps athletes with vision problems. You can benefit if you have astigmatism, nearsightedness, or farsightedness. It is ideal even for athletes with good vision.
 

Sport Therapy Techniques

 

• Visual tracking exercises: - Tracking objects in motion, like a puck or a ball. It helps improve the accuracy and speed of visual tracking

• Eye-hand coordination training improves coordination between the eyes and hands. It entails catching and throwing balls or different objects. The athletes do so while wearing unique glasses. These glasses prevent visual information from reaching the eyes

• Depth perception training: These exercises improve how an athlete judges depth and distance. It entails performing drills that require judging distances. The athlete can also wear glasses that alter their perception of depth

• Contrast sensitivity training - This entails exercises that enable athletes to see better. They do them in environments with poor contrast or that are low-lit

• Peripheral vision training - Improves the ability to see objects in their peripheral vision. It is often beneficial for sports that require you to be aware of the players around you, like hockey and basketball

• Visual reaction training - These exercises improve visual speed of processing and reaction time. They involve drills that require quick response and recognition

• Visual memory training - These exercises help athletes remember visual information

Benefits of Sports Vision Therapy

There are various benefits that athletes get from sports vision therapy. They include the following:
 

• Enhanced performance - Sports vision therapy aims to help athletes improve their performance. It improves their visual skills to help them gain a competitive edge

• Reduces risk for injury - Athletes can avoid colliding with each other or objects while playing. This reduces their risk of injury as their spatial awareness and reaction time improve

• Increases visual awareness - Athletes get an increased awareness of their visual capabilities. They also learn to use them to improve their performance. Thus, their confidence and understanding of using their vision increases

• Better visual tracking - Your visual tracking speed and accuracy can improve through sports vision therapy. Athletes who play sports such as soccer or hockey, where they need to track moving objects, play better

• Enhanced depth perception - Athletes' ability to judge depths and distances accurately improves. They can avoid collisions with other players and make more precise movements

• Improved reaction time - Athletes who undergo sports vision therapy can react faster to what they see

It is more beneficial for sports like tennis or baseball, where you require quick reactions to the speed of the ball.

Who Provides Sports Vision Therapy?

A sports vision specialist, ophthalmologist, or optometrist can provide sports vision therapy. They have the proper training and expertise to help diagnose and treat visual problems related to sports performance.

Choose a professional with experience treating and working with athletes or people who engage in sports. They should understand the visual demands of the sport that the athlete plays. Doing so will help them design a training program tailored to their needs and goals.

For more about sports vision therapy, visit Seabert Eye Care at our office in Burleson, Texas. Call (817) 857-8700 to book an appointment today!