Sports Glasses Help Amateur Athletes Guard Their Eyes

A basketball player grabs a rebound. A tennis lover rushes the net. A swimmer jumps in the water.

Then something unexpected happens. An elbow jabs the cornea. A ball strikes the face. An infection settles in the eye. The amateur athlete ends up sidelined — or worse.

Sports-related eye injuries, which result in more than 30,000 emergency room visits annually, typically involve children, teens and college athletes. But active adults are also susceptible to the same trauma, experts say. And older adults have added challenges associated with aging, such as deteriorating vision, reduced response time and diminished hand-eye coordination.

“When an eye injury occurs, it can be extremely painful, and you can lose sight permanently,” says Alan Reichow, a former college football player and professor emeritus at Pacific University's College of Optometry in Portland, Ore. “The sad thing is that most of these injuries can be prevented.”

Indeed, eye injuries aren’t just bad luck. Studies show that wearing protective eyewear and taking other basic precautions cuts the risk substantially.

“You could make an analogy to driving,” says Nick Belill whose Clio, Mich., optometry practice has been nationally recognized for its commitment to reducing youth sports-related eye injuries. “Who do we consider most at risk for car accidents? It’s the youngest drivers and oldest drivers, and it’s not a reach to make that connection to sports.”

But raising awareness is hard. Wearing everyday glasses while engaged in sports offers a false sense of security — they actually increase your risk because normal lenses can shatter if struck, and frames may splinter. “You just don’t realize that the eyewear you’re wearing on your head is potentially a weapon,” Reichow says. “When you get hit, the lens can just explode.”

That’s why doctors recommend protective gear. But don’t picture a bulky pair of goggles. The quality has vastly improved over the last 40 years, and both amateur and professional athletes wear their sports glasses regularly. 

Challenger XL Protective RX Eyewear from Liberty Sports

Liberty Sports

The eyewear, which can be ordered through an optometrist, costs more than a standard pair of glasses but less than high-end designer frames, according to Liberty Sport, an eyewear manufacturer specializing in protective frames and lenses that has partnered with the nonprofit advocacy group Prevent Blindness to promote sports eye safety. Special protective frames, made from impact-resistant nylon, may run from $150 to $175. 

They should be paired with polycarbonate lenses that resist shattering, and it's recommended they be treated with an anti-fog coating. Protective frames with single-vision prescription polycarbonate lenses and anti-fog coating run about $250.