Sports Performance Contact Lenses

Sports-performance contact lenses can mean a variety of things. Some sports-performance contacts are focused on eliminating visual distractions by means of using different colored tints, while other sports-performance contacts are intended to provide the sharpest, clearest, and most stable vision possible. At our office, we would discuss the needs of the patient before choosing which type of contact lens to proceed with.

Tints:

By using specific tints, we can diminish and eliminate visual noise with the wide range of lighting conditions that a player may encounter in their environment. For some, the need for UV and blue-light blocking protection is what's needed, while for others enhancing small objects or enhancing vision over a reflective surface such as water or snow is what's necessary. The most common tints for sports and recreational vision are amber and green.

Yellow-Orange/Amber:

An amber tint is recommended for dynamic, reactive sports in outdoor lighting, whether it be a sunny day or an overcast sky. These soft contact lenses are designed to aid visual performance in sports settings by enhancing contrast, reducing glare, and enabling the wearer to see objects with greater clarity for athletic sports such as:

• Baseball

• Archery

• Softball

• Rugby

• Hunting

• Sporting Clays/Trap Shooting

• Snow Sports

• Soccer

• Football

• Volleyball

• Lacrosse

• Tennis

Gray-Green

A greenish/gray tint is recommended for open-air sports and recreational activities on-water and on-land in more natural environments. These contact lenses are intended to aid visual performance by decreasing glare over reflective surfaces and enhancing contrast in outdoor activities such as:

• Surfing

• Golfing

• Kayaking

• Fly Fishing

• Hiking

• Running

• Cycling

• Equestrian

• Water Skiing

• Sailing/Boating

• Skateboarding

• Triathlon

Vision Correction:

In a dynamic sport with moving targets and the importance of reaction times, having the sharpest vision possible plays a large role. Glasses and recreation don't mix well, and most conventional contact lenses may not correct for the full amount of prescription needed as accurately as possible.

Given that athletes have a different set of circumstances regarding their performance, we have to look at both the environment that they are playing in and the visual demands of the sport being played. One has to find a contact lens that can deal with as many of these concerns as possible.

Both hybrid contact lenses and scleral lenses provide superior vision compared to conventional soft contact lenses. They provide stability of vision on the eye without concern for dislodge or drying out, while being a fully customizable prescription without limit. They are especially useful for those with astigmatism correction or irregularly shaped eyes, but all can benefit from this modality of contact lens wear.