Whether they’re swinging at a fastball, shooting free throws, lining up a putt or setting up a dig, athletes depend a great deal on their vision. They have to keep their eye on the ball in order to connect properly and hit a homer, make the basket, sink the putt or send a spike between two opponents. Many pro teams have a vision therapy program for their players. The program works on improving the athletes’ recognition and response. A sports vision therapist will show a baseball player .....
What happened the last time you went on the Mad Tea Party ride at DisneyWorld? Did you enjoy yourself initially, but as the ride went on, did you start to feel sick and disoriented? When you closed your eyes, however, you probably felt much better. And you were immensely glad when the ride ended and you could get your bearings again.
Professional sports teams, as well as high school and college teams, are increasing their awareness and protocols for assessing acquired brain injury, also known as concussions. Teams want to be sure their athletes are 100 percent ready to return to the field after suffering a concussion. One crucial thing a concussion does is affect your ability to point your eyes, so a prime way to evaluate the severity of a hit is through eye tracking. Eye tracking measures the eyes’ ability to work together.
Vision involves over 70% of the neural pathways of the brain. Vision is more than eye sight. Vision is the only body system that continues to develop after birth. Vision involves the way the eyes and brain interact. It takes approximately three years for the eyes to learn how to work together. When they do not, it can result in the eyes turning in (esotropia) or out (exotropia), crossed eyes (strabismus) or lazy eye (amblyopia).
Behavioral optometry starts with the concept that vision is learned. When we’re born, we don’t know how to use our arms, legs and hands. We also don’t know how to use our eyes. We have to learn how to integrate them with the rest of our body. The brain must process what the eyes are seeing, and then it has to integrate that information with the other senses. From a behav-
As you begin making your resolution to be healthier this new year, don’t leave out two of the most important parts of your body: your eyes. With the demands that are put on our eyes every day, it is essential to take care of them and even exercise them to strengthen them and possibly improve your vision.
Age takes its toll on all parts of the body, even the eyes. While conditions such as glaucoma are not necessarily inevitable as we get older, they are still possibilities that can change the way we see. It always pay to practice foresight – it just may save your eyesight. Glaucoma is a rather complex disease. Simply put, it occurs when fluid pressure builds up in your eyes. Approximately two and a half quarts of fluid, called aqueous humor, pumps through the eyes every day, providing.....
The American Optometric Association recommends preschool children receive a complete vision exam at the ages of 6 months, 3 years and 5 years. It is particularly important a child have a complete evaluation in the summer prior to entry into kindergarten. Kentucky was the first state to make a law that says you have to have an exam by a optometrist or ophthalmologist the first time you enter Kentucky public schools. The main thing is to make sure children are seeing the black/ whiteboard.
Age-
It is interesting to note how eyesight has evolved. The vision system used to be more about looking far afield for what could be hunted and eaten – and what could hunt and eat us. These days, people are spending more time with their gazes fixed on their computer or TV screens or cell phones. There are certain physical dynamics to this everyday phenomenon. There is a lens inside the eye that flexes and focuses, so when we look at things up close, that lens has to work extra hard.
Unlike some other skills we use in our everyday lives, driving relies almost exclusively on our sense of sight. We feel our feet on the ground as we move about or know we are sitting in a chair; we are fully aware of our surroundings. This sensory information lets us know where the ground or chair is. When you are driving, there is no movement of your body. It is totally about your vision and how precisely your two eyes work together. If your eyes are not aligned perfectly, you may think an.....
If you are coming in to your 40s, you may be noticing that your eyesight is changing. You have to strain a little to read, holding the book or newspaper farther away, or you find you need to wear bifocals. You may even notice a bit of clouding of the lens of your eyes. What is going on? Your eyes, like many other parts of the body, are showing signs of aging. The Crystalline lens in your eye is becoming less flexible. This makes it more difficult for the lens to adjust and focus when you look from far to near.
It may surprise you to learn eye-
Visual efficiency is more than 20/20 vision, and there is much more to reading problems than dyslexia or ADHD. About 85 percent of schooling is visual-
A concussion, also known as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or an acquired brain injury, can adversely affect vision. Unfortunately, possible visual problems are often overlooked during the initial treatment of a concussion. Perhaps a coach or doctor will move a finger in front of the patient’s eyes to see how they track movement, but this cursory examination does not get to the deeper repercussions of the injury.
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LOOK OUT FOR YOUR EYES
The average person sitting or walking will blink about 22 times a minute, but when someone is staring at a computer, he will blink about seven times a minute. Blinking distributes fresh tears across the eyes, keeping them lubricated and helping stave off dry eye. Try pressing a warm wet cloth to your eyes to soothe them and unclog the tear ducts.
An active therapy program can help you improve your eyes’ tracking, pointing and moving skills. It will also improve your spatial awareness and judgment. All these skills are learned and anyone can improve them at any point in time. Playing games such as corn hole or shooting baskets is beneficial as well because these activities make you track and follow the bag and ball. You’ll get instant feedback on how accurately your eyes are pointing and working together.
A Youtube video featuring Sir Paul McCartney doing eye yoga or eye stretches can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=00XqvNwYMoc. McCartney demonstrates simple exercises involving all six of the pointing movements of the eye, and they can have a great impact on your eyes’ strength and abilities. They’re also an excellent way to relax your eyes after a rough day or use as a warm-
The bottom line is, vision is a very complex sense. It takes a multi-
DR. RICK GRAEBE
Dr. Graebe received both his B.S degree in Visual Science and Doctorate of Optometry from Indiana University. He is a Behavioral Optometrist and learning expert. He has been in private practice here in the Bluegrass area for the past 32 years.
more articles by dr rick graebe
As you begin making your resolution to be healthier this new year, don’t leave out two of the most important parts of your body: your eyes. With the demands that are put on our eyes every day, it is essential to take care of them and even exercise them to strengthen them and possibly improve your vision.
In the past, people were hunters, farmers and gatherers. They were used to looking over far distances to seek prey and other possible sources of food. But now we live in a 2D world, where all day long we stare at flat computer and telephone screens that are 6 to 24 inches away our eyes. The stress that puts on our eyes creates more eyestrain, more headache and more fatigue. The backlit screens have more blue light to them, and this can actually cause damage to the macula at the back of the eye.
There are several things you can do to combat eyestrain. Try adjusting your schedule so you’re not staring at computer as much. Have proper, adequate lighting to work and read by – the more natural light the better. Another thing you can do to help your eyes is to follow the 20-