Laser Eye Surgery and Athletes: How LASIK Can Improve Your Game

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Posted by: Missouri Eye Institute in Blog on June 1, 2017

Most sports can be played while wearing glasses; however, there’s always the possibility of glare from the sunlight affecting your game as well as the threat of your glasses being thrown from your face during unexpected roughness. Even contacts can create issues such as eye irritation if dirt is misplaced beneath the lens or, in some cases, the lens itself may get lost on the field.

Laser eye surgery allows athletes to play the games they love without the risk of losing or harming their glasses or contacts. LASIK eye surgery is a surgical procedure in which an eye surgeon uses a laser to reshape corneal tissue in the eye, effectively correcting astigmatism, farsightedness, and nearsightedness in the patient. Approximately 596,000 LASIK eye surgeries were performed in the United States in 2015 alone.

Laser eye surgery is beneficial to athletes not only because it allows them to compete harder without the fear of breaking their glasses, but also because it can save them money over time by no longer having to pay for new frames or prescriptions. LASIK eye surgery, which takes just a few minutes to perform, grants improved vision to the patient almost immediately after the procedure.

LASIK is incredibly safe, having been performed on patients to correct their vision over the past thirty years, and is also pain free — anesthetic eye-drops are placed in the eyes of patients before the procedure. Additionally, many patients after LASIK surgery have also reported additional benefits of the procedure including improved night vision, new lines of vision, and improved peripheral vision.

One consideration for athletes undergoing laser eye surgery is a necessarily longer rehabilitation period. While laser eye surgery patients are able to return to their everyday activities relatively quickly (usually within a day or two), the corneal flap created during surgery may be irritated, harmed, or kept from healing if affected by rigorous activity, intense sweat, or eye-rubbing. While undergoing laser eye surgery is beneficial to athletes whose glasses and contacts are looking to enhance their performance, it’s essential that patients allow their eyes to heal after surgery.

With proper recovery, your new vision can last a lifetime. Call Missouri Eye Institute today to schedule a free consultation with one of our refractive surgeons!