Vision and Performance

Failure to integrate visual information can significantly affect athletic performance.

A vision problem can therefore affect Depth Perception, "Timing", Reactivity, SPEED and ACCURACY for an athlete.

“What is binocular vision? The ability to maintain visual focus on an object with both eyes, creating a single visual image. In some cases, the eyes fail to integrate visual information into a cohesive image "

One of the reasons binocular vision is so important is that it allows us to perceive depth and relationships between objects. Each eye sees slightly different spatial information and transmits these differences to the brain. The brain then uses the gaps between the two eyes to judge distance and depth. The result is the ability to see a 3D image and distinguish the relationships between objects.

Explanation

We have two eyes, the retina of each eye forming an image of its own. When we look at an object, we don't see it doubling because our brain processes the two images and merges them into one. Merging is only possible if the two images are almost similar in size and clarity. Our brain cannot merge two dramatically different images.

The images on the two retinas will be different if the visual state of both eyes is different. If one eye is weaker or crossed or cannot cross properly. Different images confuse the brain. The brain therefore focuses only on the BEST image and ignores the other. This is called deletion.

Removed eye can work very well on its own and most people will never notice that they have a removal problem. Both eyes will be open, healthy, and appear relatively normal during normal activities. This is why it is so important to test and train. People suffering from suppression may have difficulty locating the exact distance of objects from themselves.

What consequences for athletes?

Regular non-athletic individuals may not notice any problems. Athletes and those in high performance environments, however, are more likely to be affected by a visual integration problem. They are more dependent on the performance of their vision. More information needs to be processed and at higher speeds and from varying angles.

The athlete may feel like he has to work a lot harder for his skills compared to his teammates or other competitors. Especially in sports which involve a ball, object or person coming towards them.

Common complaints from non-athletic people are:

• Difficulty catching balls and other objects thrown in the air

• Avoidance of tasks that require depth perception (games involving smaller balls traveling in the air, crafts and / or hand-eye coordination, etc.)

• Poor posture during activities requiring near vision

• Problems with motion sickness and / or dizziness

• Frequent accidents due to a poor appreciation of physical distances, such as: Trips and trips on uneven surfaces, overturning of objects, ...

For an athlete, we can find:

• Precision and timing issues

• Balance problems that are slow to improve

• agility problem

• Muscle imbalances despite corrective work

• Recurrent injuries

• Eye hand - eye foot coordination problems

to summarize

You need the two eyes to work perfectly together.

Many people have a partial or total accommodation deficit, which leads to a multitude of issues that you may not have been aware of until now.

This deficit will hamper your performance in your sport.

Even if you don't have a deficit, the eyes and brain can still reap huge benefits from "eye to work together" training.

Visual training can improve:

- Eye alignment

- Visual precision

- Depth perception

- Visual flexibility

- Binocular vision

- Vertebral stability

- Strength

- Body awareness

- Agility

- Balance

Don't forget this aspect of your preparation!