Sports personalities are increasingly turning to laser eye surgery to correct their vision, allowing them to ditch their contact lenses or glasses and preventing the need for costly prescription items such as goggles. Anyone who plays sport regularly, or who hopes to become a leading player in their chosen field, will know how much dedication it takes over years to improve and progress. Most sports require excellent eye to hand and/or eye to foot coordination. Football, cricket, rugby, golf, shooting, swimming, tennis and athletics are just a few of the sports where eye co-ordination is a real must for the player.
Laser surgery is now playing an important part in the players of these sports and this is because they are seeking the optimum performance. Tiger Woods is arguably the most notable athlete to undergo Eye Surgery. Woods had the procedure in 1999 because he could not see clearly without glasses due to severe myopia. He was so short-sighted that he could only count his fingers from around a foot away from his face. He has had a number of enhancements since then and is now reported as having better than 20/20 vision. In Tiger’s case, he had a severe sight problem in his younger years, but the treatments have not only corrected the problem but given him a sharper focus than the norm. Other golfers who have undergone similar surgery include Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen and Tom Lehman.
The recovery time is incredibly short:
Contact sports and Lasek: If your sport is rugby, football, basketball, boxing, kickboxing, karate, judo, wrestling and all martial arts. It is normally recommended that you wait one month following Lasek surgery before you can participate in any of these sports.
Contact Sports and Lasik: If you are involved in any martial arts, most surgeons will insist that you have Lasek instead of Lasik. Those playing sports such as rugby or football will have to wait at least 3 months following Lasik and this will be at the surgeons’ discretion. If you play these sports seriously/professionally you are likely to be advised to have Lasek.
Non-contact sports and Lasek: These sports include jogging, tennis, athletics, going to the gym, weight lifting, table tennis, badminton etc. These sports can be played one week after Lasek surgery providing your surgeon/optician has given you permission.
Non-contact sports and Lasik: These sports include jogging, tennis, athletics, going to the gym, weight lifting, table tennis, badminton etc. As with Lasek, these sports can be played one week after surgery if your surgeon/optician has agreed. If you would like to discuss your treatment options further, please contact us and we’ll be happy to arrange a consultation with one of our experts.
