Sports Vision by Bhumin Parekh

August 9, 2020

Online Optom Learning Series (OOLS) Sessions

Bhumin Parekh starts by telling us about the importance of quality vision in improving the performance of athletes and defining the need for sports vision.

We learn in brief of the evolution of the sports vision starting from 1917 onwards. He states the key areas where optometrists are involved in sports vision. The following are the necessary components for sports vision and Bhumin, talks in detail about each of them as they pertain specifically to sports vision testing.

General ocular health
Visual acuity
Binocular vision
Stereopsis
Triangulation
Eye movements
Visual motor responses
Eye hand coordination
Eye body coordination
Central and peripheral awareness
Visualization

Mr. Parekh mentions a list of commonly played sports and what visual ability is in high demand for those sports. He then walks us through a typical sports vision workup and performance enhancement activities. He emphasis the need to understand each sport and its visual demands, this allows an optometrist to actively be involved in training and improvement of player performance.

We understand the advantages of contact lens use for sports over contact lenses. He talks about the different types of sports related injury and how to manage them. Long-term education and counseling of the player for such injuries.

Lastly, Bhumin talks about the basics of setting up a clinical practice that can cater to the vision needs of athletes. The session ends with a Question and Answer session where, Bhumin speaks more about practical sports vision assessment and management.