Athletes’ Vision is focus of Aspetar workshop. Vision Science Advisor to Manchester United FC among the presenters. Doha, Qatar December 5, 2013, – Medical and clinical experts took part in a workshop on athletes’ vision yesterday at Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital. The purpose of the Sports Vision Workshop was to help in the development of a comprehensive eye screening initiative that will become part of Aspetar’s mission to assist athletes reach their full potential. Aspetar’s Acting Chief Medical Officer, Dr Hakim Chalabi, opened the workshop. He said,

“We are delighted to welcome distinguished colleagues from all over the world to take part in this event. We are holding the workshop because we believe vision is a critical part of sports performance and an important issue in Qatar. This is the first time vision performance has been directly targeted by Aspetar and we are working with the world’s elite to get a better understanding of all the issues to ensure athletes reach their full potential”.

Professor Karim Khan, Aspetar’s Director of Research and Education added,

“We believe it is important to establish a fact-finding initiative prior to implementing a screening process because we want to ensure we incorporate the most critical elements of eye screening into the programme. There are two key issues; understanding the eye diseases that are prevalent in Qatar, and the relationship between performance and vision”.

World-renowned professionals vision experts took part in the workshop, including Professor Gail Stephenson, Head of Orthoptics at Liverpool University and President of the European Orthoptic Association. Prof Stephenson is an expert in Binocular Vision and Sports Vision and has been the Vision Science Advisor to Manchester United Football Club for the past 17 years. “Understanding key issues of binocular vision and peripheral vision are important to sports performance,” she said. “Vision training can help performance in football and other sports because athletes make decisions based on information, and 80 percent of information necessary to make an informed decision comes from vision. Whilst physiological function in an athlete is routinely assessed, visual function is not.”. In April 1996, former Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson blamed his team’s shock 3-1 defeat to Southampton on the grey away strip they were wearing, claiming the players could not see each other. At the time, his comments were widely derided yet, according to Prof Stephenson’s research, they had some basis in fact. The professor found that red shirts are detected by peripheral vision for up to 60 degrees from central vision, whereas a grey shirt is only detected by up to 20 degrees from the centre. This information led the Manchester United manager to immediately change the team’s second strip, according to Professor Stephenson. Dr. Alexander Bialasiewicz, Al Ahli Hospital’s Head of Ophthalmology will be working with Aspetar to set up its vision screening programme. Dr Bialasiewicz spoke about some common eye diseases affecting the population in Qatar during his presentation. He said,

“Bacterial eye diseases are common here, as are infections from poor contact lens hygiene. Education is a critical component in prevention and treatment of such conditions”.

The Half-day event also heard from sports physician, Dr Stephen Targett, Aspetar’s Screening Coordinator, He highlighted some of the challenges faced by medical personnel when screening athletes, including difficulties in gaining accurate information. He said, “At Aspetar we screen 1400 athletes per year. So our goal is to ensure we do not miss someone who has some form of eye disease that needs treatment but who might not be symptomatic. Screening is essential as the high prevalence of eye disease cannot be overlooked.”. Professor Damian Farrow of Victoria University in Australia, and the Australian Institute of Sports, gave a presentation on vision and skill in court sport. He was followed onto the podium by Bruce Abernethy, Professor in Skill Acquisition in the School of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland, who delivered a lecture on the contribution of visual skills to the making of a champion. Following analysis of the information gathered, and expert discussion on relevant issues, further vision screening programme may be incorporated in to Aspetar’s groundbreaking National Sports Medicine Programme (NSMP), designed to ensure international standards of sports medicine and sports science care are delivered to all sporting clubs and federations across Qatar. Aspetar is a world leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, and the first of this kind in the Middle East. Since 2007, the hospital has provided top-level comprehensive medical treatment to all athletes in a state-of-the-art facility that sets new standards internationally. In 2013, Aspetar became the first GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Sports medicine Reference Centre in the Middle East. Aspetar is a member–organisation of Aspire Zone Foundation, Qatar’s innovative sports and healthy lifestyle destination.