Relationship between visual function and motor skills: validation through a vision training system and physical fitness test

Abstract

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine the relationship between motor skills and visual functions, such as instantaneous visual memory and spatial recognition ability. [Participants and Methods] A correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between six visual functions measured using a vision training system, and physical fitness test scores among 30 college students. The six visual function items measured were: “eye-hand/body coordination”, “instantaneous visual memory”, “spatial awareness”, “peripheral perception”, “central/peripheral perception”, and “eye movement”. The physical fitness tests included “grip strength”, “long body forward bending”, “repetitive horizontal jump”, and “standing broad jump”. [Results] Visual function showed a significant positive correlation with spatial awareness. In addition, among the physical fitness tests, spatial awareness was significantly positively correlated with repetitive horizontal jump scores. [Conclusion] Spatial awareness is the ability to visualize the positional relationship between moving targets and other objects from a bird’s-eye view, and is a crucial ability in sports. Motor performance is largely associated with the ability to accurately grasp the positional relationships of objects in space, suggesting that spatial awareness may be another factor influencing motor performance.