Sports After LASIK: Recovery Time For The Everyday Athlete

Many people are under the misconception that LASIK recovery time is long and exercise, training, and strenuous activities are not possible right away. However, this is a myth; for most people, LASIK recovery time allows them to return to work the next day and certain levels of exercise are possible shortly after. Providence Eye discusses how LASIK recovery time impacts the everyday athlete.

Running After LASIK

Whether you are a weekly jogger or marathon veteran, the everyday runner athlete can quickly resume their routine. After a LASIK recovery time of just two days, runners can resume their normal running routine, not even missing half a week of training or body conditioning.

After a quick LASIK recovery time, runners can enjoy many great benefits by eliminating the:

• Need to clean and find your contacts or glasses before going to the gym or outside to run
• Burning, stinging, and itching symptoms associated with sweat mixing with contacts and contact fluid
• Difficulty glasses cause when trying to exercise or run
• Need to stop and clean glasses due to sweat and condensation
• Risks of breaking or losing your glasses during exercise and training

Swimming After LASIK

For swimmers, the after LASIK recovery time is a required two-week hiatus after procedure day. It is important to keep water out of your eyes and not submerge your head in water in order to maximize protection from infection and allow your reshaped corneal tissue to heal. Keeping your eyes free of the pool, ocean, lake, river, or pond water for 14 days also reduces chances for infection.

Contact Sports After LASIK

Contact sport athletes represent another category of individuals who can enjoy the quick LASIK recovery time after surgery. However, this category of athlete requires a little additional care. First, the all-laser, blade-free LASIK is particularly important. The corneal flap made with a laser has a better adherence versus one made with a blade, allowing a shorter LASIK recovery time. This is one reason why the military does not allow blade LASIK.

The LASIK recovery time is as little as two days, which allows people who like to play contact sports such as racquetball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, basketball, football, and baseball to pick up their rackets, knee pads, and cleats, as long as reliable protective eyewear is worn. These protective goggles should be worn for an entire month after LASIK, as it is imperative to protect your eyes from sudden jabs, bumps, and acute trauma. However, with such durable protective eyewear, LASIK eye surgery patients can still enjoy playing their favorite sports within a half week after their procedure, never missing any training or playing time.

It is generally recommended that certain sports where sudden, blunt person-to-person contact is highly likely or guaranteed should be avoided completely for the first month to maximize safety and reduce chances for corneal displacement. Activities including karate, Krav Maga, kung fu, and other martial arts pose higher injury risks due to their offensive and defensive processes.

The short LASIK recovery time helps contact sport athletes quickly eliminate:

• Chances for broken glasses
• Expensive prescription sports goggles purchases
• Likelihood for contacts to fall out or shift out of place during games or matches
• Risks for eye injuries from broken glasses
• Irritation involved when sweat or sunscreen enters the eye and reacts with contacts and contact solution

If you are an everyday athlete that has thought about LASIK but feared your recovery would take too long or the procedure would not allow you to exercise for several weeks, we invite you to schedule a complimentary consultation with a LASIK Surgeon today.