Sports and Your Eyes

ps Natural Vision Improvement markets itself as a lifestyle method of improving eyesight by wholistic means

The 2008 Olympics Are Coming! So, let’s talk sports and eyes!

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It is estimated that sports-related eye injuries account for more than 100,000 physician visits per year in the United States, at a cost of more than $175 million. Or, to put it another way, these recreation-related eye injuries represent around 10 percent of the total eye injuries occurring each year, according to Prevent Blindness America.

photo credit: Marc van der Chijs

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That’s a lot of injuries-over 90 percent of which are preventable.

While combative sports such as boxing, wrestling and karate inherently pose a high risk to participants, a 1992 study of eye injuries seen in emergency rooms found that most occurred during the more common activities of basketball, baseball and racquet- and pool-related sports. Blunt force accounted for the majority of injuries, followed by projectile-related trauma.

Surprisingly, most eye injuries are incurred playing basketball, perhaps because the sport is so popular. But the injuries don’t usually result from the ball itself-rather, loose elbows or fingers are what cause problems. Dr. H. Culver Boldt, associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, explains: “If a basketball hits you in the face, the bones around the eye socket usually prevent the ball from making direct contact with the eye. However, a finger or elbow to the eye can distort the shape of the eye significantly. Blood vessels get stretched and can break, causing bleeding. Retinal detachment is also a concern.”

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Even the relatively quiet sport of weight-lifting is not immune: Last year, Brazilian researchers found that weight lifting maneuvers such as bench presses can temporarily boost internal eye pressure. “Prolonged weight lifting could be a potential risk factor for the development or progression of glaucoma,” they concluded in an article in the Archives of Ophthalmology.

The outcome of eye trauma can range from temporary cosmetic disfigurement to permanent scarring, visual distortion and blindness. Abrasions and contusions are the most common injuries. An article from the University of Kentucky Ophthalmology department notes that a black or red eye, limited eye movement, abnormal pupil size and shape, eye protrusion, blood within the eye, or a cut/penetration of the lid or eye are all signs that you should get to a doctor, pronto.

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It is estimated that nearly three-quarters of recreational eye injuries affect people under age 25 and about half affect children under age 15. The University of Iowa’s Dr. Boldt remarks that “[children's] physical development and athletic immaturity, coupled with their fearless abandon when playing, tends to put them at greater risk for an eye injury.” Then there’s the fact that, although we would never let our children skateboard or bicycle without a helmet, we routinely let them participate in other, seemingly “innocent” sports unguarded. The U.S. Eye Injury Registry in 1995 suggested that 82 percent of serious eye injuries occurred without the benefit of eye protection.

So what can you do? Beyond supervised athletics with eye protection rules, preventing eye injuries begins with educating participants about the risks specific to each activity and the value of eye protection. This requires selection of appropriate protective eyewear and lens material and instruction on their proper use.

Polycarbonate plastic lenses and frames that are sturdy and impact resistant provide optimal protection, especially for higher-risk sports such as basketball, racquetball and handball. Consider goggles instead of regular spectacles; as Dr. Boldt notes, “Goggles protect the eyes from the sides, as well as the front.”

Parents should also schedule a dilated eye exam for their children, starting around age five or six, before the child begins athletics. This provides a baseline against which to measure any future injuries, should they happen. As Penn State’s football coach Joe Paterno said, “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”

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