Why Do Basketball Players Wear Goggles While Playing?

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An important quality of a basketball player is the ability to see. You can't expect a player to hit the perfect free throw shot without having great vision, contacts, or glasses in order to see the ball.

Basketball Sports Goggles Help You To See Clearly

Anyone who wears glasses knows that sports and eyewear don' mix well. Basketball can be a high-contact sport and result in many different injuries, especially eye injuries. Nowadays there are many different people who rely on contact lenses as a solution to help with vision in life and while playing. However, it's not just contact lenses that can help you see. If you don't want to wear contacts or are uncomfortable with the process or how they feel in your eyes, you can still get great vision when you want to play basketball. Basketball sports goggles or glasses have been making an appearance on many different basketball players.

Basketball Sports Goggles Provide Eye Protection

Prescription basketball sports goggles can help you see but even if you have perfect vision, you may still want a pair of goggles for eye protection. There are more eye injuries in basketball than any other sport. Eye goggles will help protect you from suffering from one of these eye injuries.

Basketball Sports Goggles History on the Court
The history of goggles in basketball started with players wearing glasses to help them see. This was before corrective eye surgery and contact lenses were popular. Kareem Abdul Jabbar didn't start wearing glasses to help with his vision but he had his cornea scratched during a game. He didn't want to risk losing his eyesight so he used the goggles for extra protection. Chicago Bulls player Horace Grant did wear sports goggles in order to help him see better and they quickly became a part of his look. Even after having corrective surgery, he still sported the glasses in order to encourage young children to wear their glasses while playing.

Basketball Sports Goggles Help Protect Your Eyes

If you are looking to prevent eye injuries from basketball, the good news is that basketball sports goggles can prevent up to 90% of injuries. There are some other ways to protect your eyes while you play. Visit an eye doctor to see which protective eyewear can be right for you. Get an eye exam or test your vision during your next visit in case you want to get prescription eyeglasses. Discuss eyewear options that have poly-carbonate lenses since these can withstand a greater impact and help prevent injuries better. Eyewear with good ventilation can help with fogging. You also want to consider lens coverage that can protect the entire eye area and not just the eyeball. There are different lens coating options and some may even enhance your performance. Consider padding on the eyewear in order to cushion the area and prevent eye injuries even further.

Choosing the Right Basketball Goggles

Choosing the right basketball sports goggles will help you to prevent eye injuries. Poly-carbonate lenses are virtually unbreakable and can sustain the impact of a finger or a ball. Choosing poly-carbonate lenses is one of the only options that you should explore for prescription lenses for safety reasons. You need a durable frame design and the frame needs to withstand the impact of the ball.

You want coverage to the whole eye and not just the eyeball because any injury to the soft part of the eye can still cause a lot of damage. Frames should sit close to the face and the finger should be able to make its way through the gap. Padding exists to cushion any blow. It helps to also prevent injuries to the bone structure. Frames should ideally be secured by an elastic band and not just temple pieces. You want something that is secured tightly to the head and won't fall off. A jab from a finger can easily take off goggles that are attached at the temples. Goggles with a strap only will be more secure than those with temple pieces and added straps will provide more protection.