Vision Training and Reaction Training for Improving Performance and Reducing Injury Risk in Athletes Sports Vision Training
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Abstract
Visual processing, visual fields, and visual reaction times are essential to the performance of numerous sports and play a role in athletic injuries. Vision training, a process using visual exercises as part of a structured sports conditioning program, can be used to both enhance sports performance and prevent injury by improving neurovisual processing.
In this review, evidence and methods concerning vision training programs are presented with the results suggesting performance enhancement and/or injury prevention, primarily concussion. Multiple studies are reviewed and utilized as examples that vision training programs designed to improve athletic performance or prevent injury are effective.
We conclude from the collected evidence and theoretical considerations that vision training for numerous sports can be implemented with goals to improve performance and/or decrease injuries, specifically concussion.
Key Points: 1) In this opinion paper we believe that vision training improves neurovisual processing. The vision training improves certain brain functions. 2) That vision training programs as part of athlete conditioning can improve athletic performance. Eye hand coordination, reaction times and peripheral awareness improve on the field of play. Obviously this benefit can be sport specific with some sports benefiting more than others. 3) There is emerging evidence that concussion rates can be decreased following pre-season vision training programs. The cause and effect needs to be better established and future research should address this opinion.
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References
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4. Kauffman DC, Clark JF, Smith JC. The influence of sport goggles on visual target detection in female inter-collegiate athletes. J Sports Sci 2015;33(11):1117–23. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2014.987156. Epub 2014 Dec 24. PubMed PMID: 25537065.
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6. Clark JF, Graman P, Ellis JK. Depth perception improve-ment in collegiate baseball players with vision training. Optom Vis Perf 2015;3(2):106–15.
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9. Goodale MA, Milner AD. Separate visual pathways for perception and action. Trend Neurosci 1992;15(1):20e25.
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11. Hopwood MJ, Mann DL, Farrow D, Nielsen T. Does visual-perceptual training augment the fielding perfor-mance of skilled cricketers. International J Sport Sci Coach 2011;6(4):523–36.
12. Clark JF, Colosimo A, Ellis JK, et al. Vision training methods for sports concussion mitigation and manage-ment. J Vis Exp 2015 May 5;(99). doi: 10.3791/52648. PMID: 25992878.
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14. Hitzeman SA, Beckerman SA. What the literature says about sports vision. Optom Clin 1993;3(1):145–69.
15. Stine CD, Arterburn MR, Stern NS Vision and sports: a review of the literature. Stine CD, J Am Optom Assoc 1982;53(8):627–33.
16. Stein RM, Squires G, Pashby T, Easterbrook M. Can vision training improve athletic performance? Can J Ophthalmol 1989;24(6):295.
17. Paterno JV. Importance of vision in college athletics. J Am Optom Assoc 1980 Jul;51(7):654.
18. Millslagle DG. Dynamic visual acuity and coincidence anticipation timing by experienced and inexperienced women players of fast pitch softball. Percept Mot Skills 2000 Apr;90(2):498–504.
19. Beals RP, Mayyasi AM, Templeton AE, Johnston WL. The relationship between basketball shooting perfor-mance and certain visual attributes. Am J Optom Arch Am Acad Optom 1971;48(7):585–90.
20. Sanderson FH, Whiting HT. Dynamic visual acuity: a possible factor in catching performance. J Mot Behav 1978;10(1):7–14.
21. Morris GS, Kreighbaum E. Dynamic visual acuity of varsity women volleyball and basketball players. Res Q 1977;48(2):480–3.
22. Gao Y, Chen L, Yang SN, et al. Contributions of visuo-oculomotor abilities to interceptive skills in sports. Optom Vis Sci 2015;92(6):679–89.
23. Classé JG, Semes LP, Daum KM, et al. Association between visual reaction time and batting, fielding, and earned run averages among players of the Southern Baseball League. J Am Optom Assoc 1997;68(1):43–9.
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25. Ciuffreda KJ. Simple eye-hand reaction time in the retinal periphery can be reduced with training. Eye Contact Lens 2011;37(3):145–6.
26. Zwierko T, Puchalska-Niedbał L, Krzepota J, et al. The effects of sports vision training on binocular vision function in female university athletes. J Hum Kinet 2015;49:287–9.
27. Mazyn LI, Lenoir M, Montagne G, et al. Stereo vision enhances the learning of a catching skill. Exp Brain Res 2007;179(4):723–6.
28. Wood J, Abernathy B. An assessment of the efficacy of sports vision training programs. Optom Vis Sci 1997 Aug;74(8):646–59.
29. Abernethy B, Wood JM. Do generalized visual training programmes for sport really work? An experimental investigation. J Sports Sci 2001 Mar;19(3):203–22.
30. McLeod B. Effects of eyerobics visual skills training on selected performance measures of female varsity soccer players. Percept Mot Skills 1991;72:863–66.
31. Wilkerson GB. Neurocognitive reaction time predicts lower extremity sprains and strains. Int J Athlet Ther Train 2012;17:4–9.
32. Herman D, Zaremski J, Vincent H, Vincent K. Effect of neurocognition and concussion on musculoskeletal injury risk. Curr Sports Med Rep 2015;14(3):194–99.
33. Marar M, McIlvain NM, Fields SK, Comstock RD. Epidemiology of concussions among United States high school athletes in 20 sports. Am J Sports Med 2012;40(4):747–55.
34. Daneshvar DH, Nowinski CJ, McKee AC, Cantu RC. The epidemiology of sport-related concussion. Clin Sports Med 2011 Jan;30(1):1–17, vii. doi: 10.1016/j. csm.2010.08.006. Review.
35. Gessel L, Fields S, Collins C, Dick R, Comstock RD. Concussions among United States high school and collegiate athletes. Journal of Athletic Training 2007;42(4):495–503.
36. Clark JF, Elgendy-Peerman HT, Divine JG, Mangine RE, Hasselfeld KA, Khoury JC, Colosimo AJ. Lack of eye discipline during headers in high school girl’s soccer: possible mechanism for increased concussion rates. Medical Hypotheses 2017;100:10–14.
37. Clark JF, Graman PM, Ellis JK, et al. An explora-tory study of the potential effects of vision training on concussion incidence in football. Optom Vis Perf 2015;3(2):116–25.
38. Zuckerman S, Kerr Z, Yengo-Kahn A, Wasserman E, Covassin T, Solomon G. Epidemiology of sports-related concussion in NCAA athletes from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014. Am J Sports Med 2016 Jan;44(1):NP5. doi: 10.1177/0363546515623241.
39. Clark JF, Ellis JK, Burns TM, Childress JM, Divine JG. Analysis of central and peripheral vision reaction times in patients with postconcussion visual dysfunc-tion. Clin J Sport Med 2017 Sep;27(5):457–61.
40. Bixenmann B, Bigsby K, Hasselfeld KA, Khoury J, Mangine RE, Pyne-Geithman GJ, Clark JF. Retinal and balance changes based on concussion history: a study of division 1 football players. Int J Phys Med Rehabil 2014,2:5 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-9096.1000234.
41. Bigsby K, Mangine RE, Clark JF, et al. Effects of postural control manipulation on visuomotor training performance: comparative data in healthy athletes. Int J Sports Phys Ther 2014 Aug;9(4):436–46. PMID: 25133072.
42. Schmidt J, Guskiewicz K, Mihalik J, Blackburn JT, Siegmund G, Marshall S. Does visual performance influence head impact severity among high school football athletes? Clin J Sport Med 2015;25(6):494–501.
43. Clark JF, Mangine RE, Divine JG. In response: does visual performance influence head impact severity among high school football athletes? Clin J Sport Med: October 17, 2016 - Volume Publish Ahead of Print -Issue – ppg. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000335.
2. Kenney W, Wilmore J, Costill D. Physiology of Sport and Exercise. 6th ed. Human Kinetics; 2015. ISBN-13: 978-1450477673.
3. Ishigaki H and Miyao M. Differences in dynamic visual acuity between athletes and nonathletes. Percept Mot Skills 1993 Dec;77(3 Pt 1):835–9.
4. Kauffman DC, Clark JF, Smith JC. The influence of sport goggles on visual target detection in female inter-collegiate athletes. J Sports Sci 2015;33(11):1117–23. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2014.987156. Epub 2014 Dec 24. PubMed PMID: 25537065.
5. Clark JF, Ellis JK, Bench J, Khoury J, Graman P. High performance vision training improves batting statistics for University of Cincinnati baseball players. PLoS ONE 2012;7(1):e29109.
6. Clark JF, Graman P, Ellis JK. Depth perception improve-ment in collegiate baseball players with vision training. Optom Vis Perf 2015;3(2):106–15.
7. Mangine R, Clark J, Hasselfeld K. Vision training: preventing injury, enhancing athletic performance. Training and Conditioning May 18, 2016.
8. Wilkerson GB, Simpson KA, Clark RA. Assessment and training of visuomotor reaction time for football injury prevention. J Sport Rehabil 2017 Jan;26(1):26–34. doi: 10.1123/jsr.2015-0068. Epub 2016 Aug 24.
9. Goodale MA, Milner AD. Separate visual pathways for perception and action. Trend Neurosci 1992;15(1):20e25.
10. Medendorp WP, de Brouwer AJ, Smeets JB. Dynamic representations of visual space for perception and action. Cortex 2016 Nov 30. pii: S0010-9452(16)30338-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.11.013. [Epub ahead of print]
11. Hopwood MJ, Mann DL, Farrow D, Nielsen T. Does visual-perceptual training augment the fielding perfor-mance of skilled cricketers. International J Sport Sci Coach 2011;6(4):523–36.
12. Clark JF, Colosimo A, Ellis JK, et al. Vision training methods for sports concussion mitigation and manage-ment. J Vis Exp 2015 May 5;(99). doi: 10.3791/52648. PMID: 25992878.
13. Fullerton C. Eye, Ear, brain and muscle tests on Babe Ruth. Western Opt World 1925;13(4):160–1.
14. Hitzeman SA, Beckerman SA. What the literature says about sports vision. Optom Clin 1993;3(1):145–69.
15. Stine CD, Arterburn MR, Stern NS Vision and sports: a review of the literature. Stine CD, J Am Optom Assoc 1982;53(8):627–33.
16. Stein RM, Squires G, Pashby T, Easterbrook M. Can vision training improve athletic performance? Can J Ophthalmol 1989;24(6):295.
17. Paterno JV. Importance of vision in college athletics. J Am Optom Assoc 1980 Jul;51(7):654.
18. Millslagle DG. Dynamic visual acuity and coincidence anticipation timing by experienced and inexperienced women players of fast pitch softball. Percept Mot Skills 2000 Apr;90(2):498–504.
19. Beals RP, Mayyasi AM, Templeton AE, Johnston WL. The relationship between basketball shooting perfor-mance and certain visual attributes. Am J Optom Arch Am Acad Optom 1971;48(7):585–90.
20. Sanderson FH, Whiting HT. Dynamic visual acuity: a possible factor in catching performance. J Mot Behav 1978;10(1):7–14.
21. Morris GS, Kreighbaum E. Dynamic visual acuity of varsity women volleyball and basketball players. Res Q 1977;48(2):480–3.
22. Gao Y, Chen L, Yang SN, et al. Contributions of visuo-oculomotor abilities to interceptive skills in sports. Optom Vis Sci 2015;92(6):679–89.
23. Classé JG, Semes LP, Daum KM, et al. Association between visual reaction time and batting, fielding, and earned run averages among players of the Southern Baseball League. J Am Optom Assoc 1997;68(1):43–9.
24. Poltavski D, Biberdorf D. The role of visual perception measures used in sports vision programmes in predicting actual game performance in Division I collegiate hockey players. J Sports Sci 2015;33(6):597–608. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2014.951952.
25. Ciuffreda KJ. Simple eye-hand reaction time in the retinal periphery can be reduced with training. Eye Contact Lens 2011;37(3):145–6.
26. Zwierko T, Puchalska-Niedbał L, Krzepota J, et al. The effects of sports vision training on binocular vision function in female university athletes. J Hum Kinet 2015;49:287–9.
27. Mazyn LI, Lenoir M, Montagne G, et al. Stereo vision enhances the learning of a catching skill. Exp Brain Res 2007;179(4):723–6.
28. Wood J, Abernathy B. An assessment of the efficacy of sports vision training programs. Optom Vis Sci 1997 Aug;74(8):646–59.
29. Abernethy B, Wood JM. Do generalized visual training programmes for sport really work? An experimental investigation. J Sports Sci 2001 Mar;19(3):203–22.
30. McLeod B. Effects of eyerobics visual skills training on selected performance measures of female varsity soccer players. Percept Mot Skills 1991;72:863–66.
31. Wilkerson GB. Neurocognitive reaction time predicts lower extremity sprains and strains. Int J Athlet Ther Train 2012;17:4–9.
32. Herman D, Zaremski J, Vincent H, Vincent K. Effect of neurocognition and concussion on musculoskeletal injury risk. Curr Sports Med Rep 2015;14(3):194–99.
33. Marar M, McIlvain NM, Fields SK, Comstock RD. Epidemiology of concussions among United States high school athletes in 20 sports. Am J Sports Med 2012;40(4):747–55.
34. Daneshvar DH, Nowinski CJ, McKee AC, Cantu RC. The epidemiology of sport-related concussion. Clin Sports Med 2011 Jan;30(1):1–17, vii. doi: 10.1016/j. csm.2010.08.006. Review.
35. Gessel L, Fields S, Collins C, Dick R, Comstock RD. Concussions among United States high school and collegiate athletes. Journal of Athletic Training 2007;42(4):495–503.
36. Clark JF, Elgendy-Peerman HT, Divine JG, Mangine RE, Hasselfeld KA, Khoury JC, Colosimo AJ. Lack of eye discipline during headers in high school girl’s soccer: possible mechanism for increased concussion rates. Medical Hypotheses 2017;100:10–14.
37. Clark JF, Graman PM, Ellis JK, et al. An explora-tory study of the potential effects of vision training on concussion incidence in football. Optom Vis Perf 2015;3(2):116–25.
38. Zuckerman S, Kerr Z, Yengo-Kahn A, Wasserman E, Covassin T, Solomon G. Epidemiology of sports-related concussion in NCAA athletes from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014. Am J Sports Med 2016 Jan;44(1):NP5. doi: 10.1177/0363546515623241.
39. Clark JF, Ellis JK, Burns TM, Childress JM, Divine JG. Analysis of central and peripheral vision reaction times in patients with postconcussion visual dysfunc-tion. Clin J Sport Med 2017 Sep;27(5):457–61.
40. Bixenmann B, Bigsby K, Hasselfeld KA, Khoury J, Mangine RE, Pyne-Geithman GJ, Clark JF. Retinal and balance changes based on concussion history: a study of division 1 football players. Int J Phys Med Rehabil 2014,2:5 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-9096.1000234.
41. Bigsby K, Mangine RE, Clark JF, et al. Effects of postural control manipulation on visuomotor training performance: comparative data in healthy athletes. Int J Sports Phys Ther 2014 Aug;9(4):436–46. PMID: 25133072.
42. Schmidt J, Guskiewicz K, Mihalik J, Blackburn JT, Siegmund G, Marshall S. Does visual performance influence head impact severity among high school football athletes? Clin J Sport Med 2015;25(6):494–501.
43. Clark JF, Mangine RE, Divine JG. In response: does visual performance influence head impact severity among high school football athletes? Clin J Sport Med: October 17, 2016 - Volume Publish Ahead of Print -Issue – ppg. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000335.