Following neurological disorders (stroke, TBI, Nerve injury..) or orthopedic injuries (fractures, rotator cuff, arthritis, tears..) therapy ball exercises have been proven for years of being the most effective to your recovery. Here we will post a series of articles demonstrating #1 great hand therapy exercise every time, that will help you regain your functions.
#1 Exercise: Ball Weight Bearing
Goals of practice:
Improve upper limb weight bearing ability
Improve upper limb stability.
Improve wrist range of motion.
Enable sensory stimulus (proprioception).
In all four extremity practice, improve: trunk stability, abdominal & core strength.
Interaction: pressure + movement
a. On Table: patient is standing facing a table, ball is on the table. shoulder is slightly flexed, elbow is straight, hand is on the ball creating pressure and moving the ball to different directions: making circles, horizontal and vertical lines.
b. All four extremity: patient is on all four extremities on a soft mattress, ball is placed under the palm of the hand. The arm is creating pressure on the ball and moving it in different directions: making circles, horizontal and vertical lines. (other hand is slightly elevated on a cube to create symmetry of the shoulder girdle).
Course of practice:
Movement range: according to personal ability.
length of force pressure: 2-3 sec.
Amount of force pressure: according to patient’s ability.
Session length: 0-10 min
Number of repetitions in 1 min session:
Low - 10-20
Medium - 20-30
High - 30-40
Avoid these common compensations and errors:
Lifting the shoulder to the ear (shoulder shrug).
Bending the elbow.
Transferring more weight to the unaffected side rather than the affected side.
Pressing the ball with the force of the upper limb rather than transferring weight onto to the upper limb.
To learn more about PLAYBALL therapuetic hand and shoulder ball exercises >> Exercise Ball Clips - Dozens of Exercise Ball Workouts Videos | PLAYWORK
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