Stability balls can help promote better posture.
There haven't been enough clinical studies to support their use, but Kelly Rehan of "Spinal Universe" writes that media reports suggest many teachers have been substituting stability balls for their office chairs. Stability balls build core abdominal strength, improve posture and reduce back pain and tension headaches, massage therapist Philip Clift says. In addition, "after an initial period of adjustment, using stability balls should increase energy levels and concentration ability, which may increase productivity," Clift says.
Chiropractors Larry and Celynne Merritt found that sitting on ergonomic balls helped a patient of theirs finally find relief from chronic and severe back pain. An office worker patient of theirs reduced her chiropractic visits from 17 in 2002 to four in 2005 with the use of the stability ball at work.
Instructions
1. You can easily exercise while you sit on a stability ball.
Get the right fit. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that people under 4 feet, 10 inches get a 30- to 35-cm ball; those 4-foot-8 to 5-foot-5 get a 45-cm ball; people 5-6 to 6 feet should use a 55-cm ball; and those 6 feet to 6-5 should use a 65-cm ball. If you're taller than 6-5, get a 75-cm ball. If you're overweight or long-legged, you might need an 85-cm ball.
When you sit on the ball, your hips should be one to two inches higher than your knees, writes Larry and Celynne Merrit.
2. Don't exacerbate back pain: Start out slowly.
Take it slowly. The Merritts' chiropractic patient whose chronic back pain improved with the use of the stability ball could only tolerate its use for two minutes at a time at first. Sitting on the ball can feel awkward and uncomfortable at first.
The Merrits recommend starting out with whatever is tolerable and building up to 20 minutes a day. After that, your posture and muscle improvement can dictate what's comfortable. You might sit on the ball all day, at intervals during the day or just once a day.
3. Ergonomic balls are finding their way into classrooms.
Correct your posture. The use of ergonomic balls at school and work is deemed "active sitting" because awareness is part of the process. At first you'll be more aware of your posture because the support is so different with a stability ball, but as Rehan writes, you can slip into bad postural habits and become accustomed to them with a stability ball, too.
Many researchers believe that the heightened awareness that comes with active sitting could translate into greater concentration and focus mentally. Rehan writes that teachers and researchers report that using stability balls in the classrooms has improved concentration, note-taking, group participation and exam performance in students.
John Kilbourne of Grand Valley State University conducted a 2008 study of the stability ball using his students as test subjects. He found that besides improving balance, posture and strength, freedom of movement and increased blood flow resulted in better class attention.
4. Remember to stand and stretch throughout your work day.
Move around. Standing and stretching are still important whether you're sitting in an office chair or on a stability ball. Steve Blankenship, an administrator at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, had to get used to moving around the office because he was used to a chair on wheels. Getting up isn't a bad thing as far as circulation is concerned, and Blankenship enjoys rocking back and forth and bouncing to music while he works.
Indiana University experts found that reaching while on the stability ball activates shin and hamstring muscles. This can help improve circulation desk workers' legs. Researcher Kelly Jo Baute reports that stability balls free people from the confined positions they spend long hours in, and the balancing people do as they reach while on the ball engages leg muscles.
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