5 Reasons Athletes Choose LASIK

Professional athletes train their bodies to perform at an elite skill level. Because vision is integral to physical performance, athletes require vision correction that is always in place and can stand up to extreme conditions.

Not surprisingly, many athletes choose LASIK due to its safety and effectiveness.

Wherever a sport takes place, field, pitch, course, track or beach, the environment is a challenge to those athletes with vision issues. Dirt, sand, wind and rain, changes from natural to artificial lighting conditions, and dealing with physical conditions, such as exertion and collisions, make eyeglasses and contacts hard to use.

Aside from the issues with glasses and contacts, there are many reasons why athletes choose LASIK.

Here are five reasons athletes choose LASIK:

1. Better vision after LASIK helps reaction time and depth perception.

2. LASIK allows individuals to see contrast better under different kinds of light and against different backgrounds than glasses or contacts. Think of a cricket player who has to sight a small, fast moving ball against dirt, or grass in all different types of light both natural and artificial. It’s not easy for even those with the best vision. Imagine relying on glasses or even contacts to make plays in those conditions.

3. LASIK provides individuals with “normal vision” – not the minification that occurs with myopic glasses. Professional golfers have stated LASIK has improved their putting since the hole now appears larger.

4. LASIK stands up to extreme environments. Sweat, helmets, other gear and weather can make it impossible to wear glasses. And contact lenses aren’t completely reliable in wind, dust or contact situations.

5. LASIK has a recovery period with minimal downtime. Most people are back to their routine within 24 hours after LASIK. Athletes, with their strenuous physical fitness routine may require slightly more time.

Because different types of sports have different requirements, athletes should know there are options when it comes to laser vision correction treatment. LASIK is the most popular laser vision correction procedure available today because it is a safe and effective option, delivering excellent vision with a fast recovery time in a two-step process.

This includes creating a flap in the cornea – to reveal the inner cornea where the vision correction is performed. Once the flap is replaced, the procedure is over and typically, patients experience an immediate improvement in their vision quality. That improvement increases during the healing process.

After over 20 years and millions of procedures worldwide, we know LASIK is an extremely safe and stable vision correction option for many types of sports – including contact sports such as football and boxing. LASIK is approved for the military so it is obviously reasonable for athletes.

This post originally appeared on American Refractive Surgery Council.