Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the quality of stereoscopic vision in children of younger school age (n = 60) with regard to sports activities (handball, swimming), regularly performed by these children. In order to determine the level of stereopsis, the standardized test “Titmus stereo test” was used. At the same time, the initial history of sports-physical activities was carried out to receive more objective interpretation of the results. For the statistical processing of the gained data (Statistica 8.0), the nonparametric method - Mann-Whitney U test - was used. Other parameters were expressed by means of frequency, averages, and percentage representation in charts. The data were processed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The following values were calculated: Z = -1.97; p = 0.05. The observed data support our hypothesis that physical activity connected with a strong activation of visual and brain functions could affect the quality of individual elements of visual space depth perception, such as stereopsis or myopia. The median values of stereoscopic vision levels in handball players (9) and swimmers (7) are demonstrably given in favour of handball players. Handball players clearly dominate also in the frequency of excellent results achieved in the test of stereoscopic vision (values 9 and 10). On the basis of the statistical results, we can accept the determined hypothesis validated by the “Titmus stereo test” test of stereopsis, and we can state that the quality of stereopsis in handball players is higher than in swimmers.
Highlights
Visual functions have a significant effect on almost every daily human activity
It may be assumed that the quality of visual functions, stereoscopic vision in our particular case, plays a primary role in activities related to spatial orientation, distance estimation, motor learning, motor docility levels, or abilities to perform any motor activity
The research sample consisted of 60 probands, and every sports branch was always represented by a group of 30 probands. 92% of the probands were at the age of 7 to 10 years, and have been involved in swimming, or handball activities for more than 3 years
Summary
The level of visual functions is very important with regard to the quality of life (Valach et al, 2016) and is closely associated with the degree of success in performing or learning the selected motor activity. With regard to high-performance or peak sports, the low level of stereoscopic vision is perceived as a limiting factor of sporting performance, or as a significant restriction when practising selected skills. As a primary source of information, provides about 80% of stimuli from the external environment. For this reason, it may be assumed that the quality of visual functions, stereoscopic vision in our particular case, plays a primary role in activities related to spatial orientation, distance estimation, motor learning, motor docility levels, or abilities to perform any motor activity. Assuming that if a person has a high level of stereoscopic vision, there are primarily ideal conditions for successful execution or learning of locomotor tasks in terms of afferentation
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