Contact Lenses Improve Curry's Game

If you are an athlete, have you ever thought of training your vision? Just like speed and strength, vision is such a huge part of sports performance. Most athletes have coaches that advise them in nutrition, speed, agility, and other aspects to improve their game....why not also with their vision?

Did you know that at the Olympic level the athletes that brought home the most medals were the ones that tested with the best visual systems? Recently, Steph Curry made the news after he began playing with contact lenses. He had a small prescription for astigmatism and it was corrected in the contact lenses. This amazing player went from 43.6% success from the three point line up to 47.3% in his last 13 games since wearing the contact lenses.

Several visual skills including eye tracking, teaming, focusing, and visual processing speed can affect an athlete's ability to perform consistently. Some other important skills are:

• Peripheral awareness: the ability of the athlete to perceive what is going on at either side without turning your head.
• Depth perception (3D): involves making accurate spatial judgments – how far away an object or person is from the athlete.
• Accommodation: allows the athlete to keep objects (such as a ball, puck or opposing player) in focus as well as quickly change focus during the game.
• Fusion: the ability to use both eyes together. Fusion deficits can result in inconsistent performance.
• Ocular motility (eye movements): must be fast, accurate and coordinated any time the athlete needs to quickly change focus from one object to another.
• Dynamic visual acuity: the ability to see objects clearly when they are moving quickly.
• Color vision: critical in ball sports such as football.
• Visual boundaries: varies by sport and refers to the visual area that an athlete must attend to while competing.
• Target demand: can either be static (stationary) or dynamic (in motion) during competition
• Contrast sensitivity: crucial in particular for skiers

Interested in a Sports Vision Assessment to see where you stack up against peers and the pros, and to find areas where you can improve, give us a call!