Sports vision therapy is a personalized form of vision therapy that is used to develop or enhance specific visual skills in athletes. Just like any other physical skill, an athlete’s visual skills can be improved through proper training. A custom sports vision therapy program can be just the solution an athlete needs to outperform their competition or solidify their place on a team.
Benefits of Sports Vision Therapy
Many athletes have the necessary basic skills to play their game, such as strength, speed and endurance. However, high-performing athletes go above and beyond, often because of their exceptional visual processing skills. This is why those who want to excel often turn to sports vision therapy to rise above and take their game to the next level. Sports vision therapy can help athletes improve their performance in a variety of ways, including:
- Improved hand-eye coordination: Hand-eye coordination is the ability to coordinate the movement of the eyes with the movement of the hands. Many sports require precise hand-eye coordination, and sports vision therapy can enhance this skill, helping athletes catch, throw or hit a ball with greater accuracy.
- Improved depth perception: Depth perception is the ability to judge the distance of objects from oneself. Accurate depth perception is vital in sports where athletes must judge the distance between themselves and the ball or other players. Refining depth perception reduces the likelihood of misjudging distances and making costly errors on the field or court.
- Improved visual processing speed for faster reaction times: Visual processing speed is the ability to process visual information quickly and accurately. Sports vision therapy helps athletes process visual information more quickly and respond accordingly. This can make all the difference in sports where split-second reaction times are essential.
- Enhanced Visual Acuity: Visual acuity is the clarity or sharpness of vision at a distance. Sports vision therapy can sharpen an athlete’s vision, improving their ability to see fine details. This skill is crucial for many sports where precision is essential. Better visual acuity also allows athletes to spot movements and objects more quickly, giving them an advantage in fast-moving sports like soccer or basketball.
Sports Vision Therapy Can Help for Your Sport
Each sport requires its own set of athletic skills in order to excel. Therefore, an athlete can improve their chance of success by working on those visual skills and abilities that are used most often during their gameplay.
- Basketball players often use sports vision therapy to improve shooting or passing skills
- Football players use this training for recognizing defensive coverage, expanding peripheral awareness and for receiving drills
- Baseball players can use this therapy to improve their hitting and fielding skills, recognize pitches more quickly or to improve catching reaction times.
- Soccer players can improve their dribbling and shooting skills, while goalkeepers can train their reaction time, peripheral awareness and decision-making.
- Hockey players can improve their game by enhancing the essential skills used on the ice, such as depth perception, reaction times and focusing ability.
- Golfers can enhance their depth perception in order to accurately assess distance to the hole and club selection, as well as hand-eye coordination to improve their swing and putting ability.
- Tennis players can see similar benefits, with improved focus, visual tracking and depth perception in order to maintain control of a small, fast-moving ball as well as maintain proper position on the court.
Family Vision Development Center Provides Highly Specialized Sports Vision Therapy
At Family Vision Development Center, we have advanced training in sports vision therapy techniques that allow us to help athletes fine tune the essential skills they need to succeed in their sport. First, we assess each athlete to determine the areas of improvement that are needed. Then, we develop a customized visual therapy program to enhance their specific visual skills and improve their athletic performance. We work with athletes of all ages and are dedicated to helping athletes reach their full potential. Contact us at 630-862-2020 to schedule your appointment to learn more about this type of visual training.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, sports vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.
Vision plays such an important role in our everyday lives. So for those who experience vision difficulties, proper treatment can have a significant impact on their overall quality of life. Vision therapy is a very effective option for restoring proper visual function. However, many people believe that only young kids can benefit from the treatment. But that is not true! Vision therapy programs are tailored to meet the individual needs of each patient, and therefore can provide important benefits at any age.
Vision Therapy in Elementary School – Laying the Foundation for Learning
For children in elementary school, vision plays a critical role in their education and overall development. During this stage, they are learning to read, write, and grasp fundamental concepts that they will use for the rest of their lives. Vision therapy can be very beneficial for children in this age group by helping in the following areas:
- Improve School Performance – Vision therapy can help identify and address vision problems that may be affecting a child’s ability to read and write effectively. Conditions like convergence insufficiency (difficulty focusing on close objects) or tracking problems (difficulty following lines of text) can be treated through vision therapy. By improving these visual skills, children can perform better in school.
- Enhance Visual Skills – Vision therapy not only corrects vision problems but also enhances visual skills. For instance, it can improve eye-hand coordination, which is important for activities like handwriting, catching a ball, or playing musical instruments. These skills are essential for a child’s physical and cognitive development.
- Boost Confidence – Struggling with visual issues in elementary school can affect a child’s self-esteem and willingness to participate in class. Vision therapy can boost their confidence by addressing these challenges and helping them feel more comfortable in academic settings.
Vision Therapy in High School – Preparing for Success
As students get to high school, they often face greater academic challenges that require more complex visual skills. Additionally, this is the time that many students begin preparing for higher education opportunities or greater athletic goals. A vision therapy program at this age can help with:
- Reading and Studying – High school students are faced with more extensive reading assignments and the need to study for important exams. Vision therapy can help improve reading fluency, comprehension, and the ability to sustain attention while studying.
- Reducing Eye Strain Symptoms – With the rise in screen time, many high school students experience digital eye strain. Vision therapy can teach techniques to reduce eye fatigue and discomfort, promoting healthier screen habits.
- Athletic Performance – High school sports can be very competitive and students are often trying to prepare for athletic scholarships. Vision therapy can help athletes develop and strengthen visual skills such as hand-eye coordination, tracking and reaction time in order to give them an edge over their competition.
Vision Therapy for Adults – Improving Quality of Life
It’s never too late to improve your vision, so adults should be happy to know that vision therapy programs have many benefits at this age as well.
- Workplace performance – refined visual skills are needed for many aspects of a job, such as fine-detail work, computer work and presentations. Vision therapy can help improve reading and writing ability, concentration, as well as the ability to shift visual focus from close up to farther distances. These improvements can increase performance and productivity and reduce stress.
- Driving Ability – The ability to drive safely is crucial, especially as you age. Vision therapy can address issues like poor night vision, glare sensitivity, or difficulties with depth perception, enhancing road safety.
- Reduce Headaches – more than 15% of adults experience severe headaches or migraines. Both of these are common symptoms of a binocular vision problem (a condition in which the eyes don’t align properly). An adult vision therapy program can improve the communication between the eyes and brain, correct the binocular vision disorder and alleviate the headaches.
Family Vision Development Center is a Vision Therapy Specialist
The team at Family Vision Development Center has advanced training in a variety of effective vision therapy programs. After a comprehensive evaluation, we will custom tailor a program to meet your individual needs. We take pride in our one-on-one approach to vision improvement, and understand the significant impact that restoring or enhancing visual skills can have on the overall quality of life for our patients. Contact us at 630-862-2020 to learn more or to schedule an appointment today.
Family Vision Development Center is a full-service vision center offering innovative vision therapy services, post-concussive vision rehabilitation, comprehensive vision exams for eyeglasses and contact lenses, management of ocular diseases including glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration and cataracts, and a state-of-the-art optical center offering the latest designs in eyewear.
