Your lifestyle and activities will not be restricted by refractive surgery. Your ability to play sports could be enhanced by your freedom from dependence on glasses and contact lenses. Playing sports like racquetball should be postponed for several weeks, or until the eye is fully healed. Afterwards, use protective eye wear, as you should anyway. I've heard it takes 6 months to improve my vision.
Fluctuation can occur, but visual improvement is almost immediate following surgery.
The degree of your refractive error will determine how long your vision will fluctuate. The worse the error, the longer the fluctuations. The laser uses a cool light beam to reshape the cornea's surface to a more rounded shape, which will bring vision into a sharper focus. The laser is extremely precise, removing only .25 microns of tissue per pulse. I've heard Arnett Clinic uses a mobile laser.