As a pediatric ophthalmologist
I am very aware of the needs of parents, coaches and players to have
information and take steps to avoid eye injury. Hockey is particularly popular
in Connecticut both by observers and fans as well as among middle school, high
school and college athletes. Eye injury
is a series risk among hockey players and it requires that parents and players
take some precautions-specifically the use of visors to minimize the risk of
hockey eye injury. Based on research presented
at the American
Academy of Ophthalmology, you should be aware that the researchers found that wearing visors could cause a four-fold decrease in the
risk of eye injuries. The researchers,
based at the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School, examined data
from The Sports Network (TSN) and The Hockey News annual visor survey over the
last 10 seasons from 2002 to 2013 in the NHL. The data clearly demonstrated that the risk of eye injury is 4.23 times
higher for players who do not wear a visor. The study also found that the
majority of eye injuries are caused by being hit by the puck (37%) or struck by
a high stick (28%) or by a fight or scrum (18%), while the researchers could
not identify the cause of injury for 17%. Further, players without visors had a
more aggressive style of play, measured by penalty minutes, hits and fights in
a case-control study.
If you or
someone you know plays hockey please share this information with them to help
them decrease their risk of hockey eye injury, or please feel free to call Doctor
& Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in
Fairfield County or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an
appointment.
Doctor & Associates offices
are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195
Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk,
Connecticut 06851.
