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Exploring Keratoconus And Astigmatism: How It Can Impact An Athlete’s Vision

Recognizing these conditions is the key to correction and optimal vision for sports

Photo by Kelly

Although often not considered, vision is a critical component of sports performance. Have you ever seen an athlete play with their eyes closed?

There are many eye conditions that can affect the vision of athletes; one of the most commonly overlooked is astigmatism. Regular astigmatism and its more severe cousin, keratoconus, can silently steal your vision without your being aware.

First of all, let’s investigate astigmatism.

Astigmatism is a condition where the eye is shaped more like an American football rather than a basketball. If you think about a basketball, it is a perfect sphere. Meaning that no matter how you trace your finger over the surface of the basketball, you form the same curve. This is important as light is focused predominantly at the surface of the cornea and if the surface curves are all the same, the light will be focused the same regardless of what curve the light contacts and all the light will be focused on a very sharp…