Ocular hazards of playing squash rackets.

Squash rackets is a game played at a fast pace, popular in over fifty countries, with an estimated half million players in Great Britain alone. It is played between two, or occasionally four, players in an enclosed court of specified dimensions, using rackets similar to but smaller than a tennis racket, and with a hollow black rubber ball I} in. in diameter and i oz. in weight. There has been a spectacular increase in the popularity of squash rackets during the last 20 years, and information suggests that it is now the country's fastest-growing sport (Spink, I972). It is estimated that male players outnumber female players by five to one (Horry, I972). It was our impression that ocular injury is a not uncommon occurrence amongst squash players, although a search of the literature revealed only passing references to the subject (Colson and Armour, I96I; Blonstein, I964). It was hoped that our study would clarify this impression and also elucidate the various factors which might predispose to, or lessen the risk of, such injury.