From rehabilitation to performance: reframing vestibular-ocular interventions to optimise sports performance
Returning athletes to their preinjury performance level is a central tenet of modern sports medicine.Efficient integration of vision, balance, proprioception and motor response is fundamental not only for performance optimisation but also for injury prevention. 1 Consequently, vestibular-ocular motor assessments have become a cornerstone of sport-related concussion management, used to identify impairment, monitor recovery and guide return-to-play decisions.This practice addresses the high prevalence of gaze instability, visual motion intolerance and impaired eye-head coordination postconcussion, which are associated with significant symptom burden and prolonged recovery.
Authors
- Jon Patricios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6829-4098)
- Antonio Belli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3211-9933)
- James McLoughlin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5657-7149)
- Mike Loosemore
- David Bartlett
Institutions
- English Institute of Sport (GB)
- Flinders University (AU)
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- University College London (GB)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- British Journal of Sports Medicine
- Published
- 2026-06-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2026-111615
- Primary Topic
- Vestibular and auditory disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00