When can I get back to my sports, after Laser Eye Surgery?

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When you have laser eye surgery, your eye is very delicate whilst it is healing. The LASIK procedure involves creating a flap in the front of your cornea, to enable your ophthalmologist to reshape your cornea. Once this flap has been made, it can take a number of weeks to heal. Even when it is healed there is still a risk that the flap can become dislodged if you get knocked or jolted. This is a particular worry if you play contact sports such as boxing or rugby. Other laser procedures such as LASEK or PRK do not create such large flaps and as such you will heal faster and be able to return to sports quicker. In general it can be up to 4 weeks before you will be able to return to contact sports. To play non-contact sports such as tennis will only require around a 1-2 week period of abstinence. It is also important that you don’t swim or go in a Jacuzzi for approximately two weeks after the surgery, as bacteria in the water can lead to eye infections.

It is important that you follow any advice the ophthalmologist gives you with regards to recovery times and activities you shouldn’t do.

Read about the Recovery after Laser Eye Surgery.

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