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Old 08-26-2002, 05:55 AM   #1
erminio
 
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Location: Milano
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Falls and retina damages

Hi guys..need a counsel, if you wish.
Talking about Aikido with a friend of mine, I told him that in Aikido there are a lot of (most of time, controlled, I guess ) falls and fast mouvements; now, I'm quite short-sighted (I wear soft contact lenses) and he told me that maybe, this could damage my retina because in short-sighted people it is more weak.
I have no others health problems, so I don't really agree with him, but.. any answer?

Thanks a lot

Erminio
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Old 08-26-2002, 06:04 AM   #2
guest1234
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Boy, Erminio, we're just never going to get you out on the mat, are we?

I would recommend you talk to you optometrist/opthamologist, and describe the ukemi for him; your friend is right in that high myopes have an increased risk of retinal detachment, but the fact that you need CTL or glasses does not necessarily mean you are in this group. And, the fast deceleration falls are not needed usually, so even if he had concerns about say, an over-the-shoulder koshi, most rolls, backfalls, etc he'd probably OK.

Bottom line, you have only one set of eyes, so discuss this with your eye care specialist.
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Old 08-27-2002, 07:24 AM   #3
JJF
 
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Hi!

I'm shortsighted too. Not a lot but around -4.75 and -5.25. I have never experienced any problems that I could relate to pratice. I have practiced with people who had eyesight a lot worse than mine, and never heard of any problems there either. Of course I'm not qualified to tell you this could not be a problem, so as Colleen is saying you should ask you optometrist.

- Jørgen Jakob Friis

Inspiration - Aspiration - Perspiration
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Old 08-27-2002, 08:27 AM   #4
paw
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Consider this FAQ as a starting grounds for a conversation with the doctor of your choice.

Regards,

Paul
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Old 08-27-2002, 12:34 PM   #5
erminio
 
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Thanks Jorgen for your experience and thanks Paul for the link, it was very useful!

Have a good day

Erminio

It's what you do right now that makes the difference.
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Old 08-27-2002, 02:29 PM   #6
henry brown
 
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I have wondered about this a lot myself. I don't know if an optometrist would have the answer, although i guess an ophthalmologist would. Maybe a sports medicine physician?

Anyway, I will be doing ophthalmic pathology tomorrow, and I will try to remember to ask the eye docs.
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Old 08-27-2002, 02:38 PM   #7
guest1234
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I wouldn't recommend a sports medicine doc, they might, but I don't think it would be quite what they consider their field. As the FAQ Paul gave points out, the question is what the individual's retina looks like, previous or underlying problems or pathology, etc...either an optpmetrist or an opthamologist who's done a good cycloplegic exam (dilated your eyes) should have been able to tell what your retina looks like, especially at the edges. Besides, while most don't have need for a sports medicine doc they can just call up for an appt to discuss Aikido, anyone who needs CTL or glasses has an eyecare specialist already, and should, if they are high myopes, be getting a full exam every year or two.
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Old 08-27-2002, 02:53 PM   #8
henry brown
 
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Jeez, I wish I had read that FAQ before putting up a reply!
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Old 08-27-2002, 03:41 PM   #9
henry brown
 
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I just spoke to my pet ophthalmologist, I would say that he is in agreement with a passage I just copied out of the eye FAQ:

"Q: I thought that only retinal breaks, tears, or holes cause retinal detachment. Not true?

A: Actually another form of retinal detachment called traction retinal detachment can occur as a complication of diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, inflammatory disorders, or trauma. The more common type of detachment associated with retinal holes, breaks, or tears is called rhegmatogenous. "

All things being equal, a myope would be at a higher risk for a traumatic detachment. However, you would still need to suffer fairly significant trauma, probably bad enough to cause a contra-coup injury. So.....fall correctly!
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Old 09-16-2002, 03:29 PM   #10
kung fu hamster
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Near-sightedness

My friend had to have quite serious eye surgery due to retinal holes which developed merely from the 'pulling' stresses on her eyeball, which her surgeon described as a squashed beachball shape. The muscular (?) forces which pulled her eyeball into this shape eventually tore at the back of her retina and he had to 'take her eyeball out, do the surgery and put it back in', for a quick description of what was involved. She had to sit face downward for two weeks without raising her head in order for it to heal properly. This is not the first time that nearsightedness caused her retinal damage, but he forbids her to do anything which might involve blows to the head (boxing is out, as you might imagine), or even vigorous shaking. She has permanent floaters in front of her vision which the doctor says will never go away, quite irritating as you might imagine. I thought of her when I got clobbered in the eye with an atemi a few weeks ago and floaters started appearing in my field of vision as well. They've gone away, but if you have a tendency to extreme nearsightedness, I recommend that you get the name of a qualified ophthalmologist and find out what state your eyes are in.
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Old 09-18-2002, 11:24 AM   #11
j0nharris
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Just so long as I don't fall on my retinas...

Or anyone else's for that matter...

-jon
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