Abstract
Sports participation is a source of ocular injuries that lead to significant short and long term visual impairment. Such injuries can adversely affect an athlete’s performance by reducing depth perception, and reaction time. PURPOSE: This literature review examines the effect of sports induced ocular injuries on athletic ability, visual function, and capacity for play. METHODS: Four databases were searched (PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, and Google Scholar) in September 2025 with terms including “Ocular Injury AND Sports” and “Eye Conditions AND Athletes.” Inclusion criteria were intervention studies containing primary data, peer reviewed, and directly relating to ocular conditions from sport participation. Exclusion criteria were non-intervention studies, published before 2015, and non-sports injuries. All relevant articles were screened and assessed for full text eligibility, yielding 24 full text studies to be included in this review. RESULTS: Sports related eye injuries accounted for 1/3rd of blindness cases due to ocular trauma. Sports found to result in a high incidence of eye injuries included basketball, baseball, handball, badminton, diving, and water polo. Sports induced vision conditions include blurred vision, double vision and light sensitivity. Athletes in collision sports, such as football, boxing and ice hockey, sustain negative eye related changes attributed to repeated head trauma. These include retinal thinning, reduced visual acuity at low contrast, and poorer vision related quality of life. Vision impairment was found in 69% of eyes that sustained an ocular sports injury. The most common conditions with permanent vision threatening structural damage were angle recession, and macular scar or hole. The most common ocular injury is an ocular abrasion. Eye injuries impact performance as they impair an athlete’s visual acuity, smooth pursuit, and visuospatial processing abilities. CONCLUSION: Sports related ocular injuries represent a significant cause of vision loss. Accounting for a large share of trauma induced blindness, collision based and high velocity projectile sports can prevent further participation and necessitate prolonged absences from play. Eye protection is essential as superior visual skills enhance performance in sport and ensure continued participation.
Recommended Citation
Naik, Saahil and Fornale, Maria Teresa
(2025)
"Sports Related Ocular Trauma: Visual Dysfunction and Effects on Sustained Play and Athlete Performance,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 15:
Iss.
7, Article 13.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol15/iss7/13