SOSA - Sports Ophthalmology Society of the Americas

You often hear people talk about certain basketball players having great vision. Most of the time this refers to a player who has a knack for finding the open man on offense. Does sight play a bigger role than we think? Are there ways to use our knowledge of sight to improve basketball players’ performance? The answer is yes. Using the knowledge of how our visual system works to improve performance is not a new concept. As children athletes are taught how to proper form of a shot. When shooting with perfect form your arms should create a window so both eyes can see the target. (more…)

The recently adopted privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) adopt a uniform standard for confidentiality of patient information. In many ways, HIPAA requirements are stricter than previous existing law.

The general rule under HIPAA is that patient identifying information is not to be used or disclosed except as permitted by the regulations. A health care provider may generally use a patient’s health information for purpose of the patient’s treatment, for purposes of collecting payment for services rendered, or for the providers internal management purposes of collecting payment for services rendered, or for the providers internal management purposes consistent with a proper notice to the patient of the provider’s privacy practices. (more…)

Objective: To investigate the epidemiology of eye injuries sustained by professional basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Methods: A prospective study involving all NBA athletes who sustained eye injuries between February 1, 1992, and June 20, 1993, was conducted. Twenty-seven NBA team athletic trainers, physicians, and ophthalmologists were provided data forms to complete for any player examined for an eye injury. Practice and game exposures during the preseason, regular season, playoffs, and championships were included. (more…)

Professional athletes of all sports undergo refractive surgery. Tiger Woods in golf, Troy Aikman of football, Greg Maddux of baseball and Patrick Ewing of basketball are a few notable athletes who have undergone LASIK. The questions surgeons need to consider is whether LASIK is safe enough to recommend to athletes. In my view, there are two prime considerations: the increased risk of trauma risk due to the sport and the risk that reduced Best Corrected Visual Acuity could pose to the athlete’s career. (more…)

New organization will help ophthalmologists handle challenging situations that arise when treating athletes

When Rolando Toyos, M.D., Toyos Clinic, Memphis, signed on as ophthalmologist to the Memphis Grizzlies pro basketball team and the Memphis Redbirds AAA baseball team, there were no guidelines covering unique eye care situations that arose in athletes. Others shared his concern, facing a variety of questions when treating professional and collegiate athletes, such as: How quickly can a player return to play after an eye injury? How does a physician cope with pressure from the agent, coach, or team when a patient is not ready to return to play? What if a team doctor detects a vision problem in a player in contract negotiations? (more…)