Therapy balls, also called exercise balls or yoga balls, are used for different kinds of physical therapy, training, and general strengthening of your body. These balls have pretty wide usage, including helping you recover after a severe accident, orthopedic surgery, and more.
Depending on the reason why you need one, there are different shapes, models, and kinds of therapy balls. Besides well-known regular therapy balls, there is a smart therapy ball whose usage and implementation in the rehabilitation process constantly increase.
Kinds of Therapy Balls
There are different therapy balls for various purposes. What’s common for all is the elastic material they’re made of. They can vary in size and shape depending on the purpose.
For example, we have large balls mainly used for yoga and Pilates. Then we have small or mini therapy balls that are very effective used for hand-arm-shoulder therapy when rolling with one hand or working on the lower limb when holding it between the knees while practicing stability and hip movement.
There are also medicine balls, different from the previous two as they are smaller and heavier and not meant to roll.
You can use these to throw and catch. If you want to practice lifting but are not a fan of hand weights, you can try toning balls. If you feel pain in a specific area, such as the neck or back, you can try using small therapy balls. One of the recommended exercising tools is definitely a power ball. It has a rotor inside that releases impulses around the axis.
It builds up stability coming from inertia and the speed of rotation. Since it allows you to achieve numerous rotations in the weight of the ball itself, it has a significant impact on conducting power and strengthening your muscles.
Besides, it has a positive effect on your hand balance as you can use it in various workouts. You can use it to improve fingertip balance and rotation as well as for wrists and the entire hand.
Besides, recently we’ve got a smart therapy ball as a technical innovation for an old tool. It’s a therapy ball with sensors used to play different games. Instead of standard rolling the ball left and right, you have a chance to participate in an interactive therapy session, have fun, and exercise.
These balls are connected to monitors, and you can play different games chasing objects or making shapes, pressing the ball when asked. If you think your physical therapy is dull, try using a smart therapy ball and think again!
Why Is Smart Therapy Ball a Fantastic Tool?
Unlike all of the therapy balls mentioned above, a smart therapy ball is more than a ball.
It’s a technology used to track and monitor your progress and find the exercise that fits you the most. By following reports, your therapist can tell exactly which exercise works best for you and increase it during your therapy session.
Moreover, you can see your progress each day.
This kind of hand exercise ball is fantastic to be used in case of hand injuries or disorders but can also be beneficial when it comes to therapy for shoulders and feet.
By applying pressure to the ball while playing all sorts of games, you’re increasing your muscle strength and practicing motor skills. There are hundreds of activities to perform using this kind of playball on your way to recovery.
It’s compatible with already known exercises, so you won’t be applying new techniques, rather a new way of implementing old ones to increase the efficiency of your rehabilitation process.
How Do I Choose The Right Size Of Therapy Ball For Me?
One of the most heard questions would be about choosing the right size for therapy balls. It all depends on the exercise you’re planning to perform and the type of therapy ball you wish to use.
If we are talking about larger balls for back stretching, you should choose based on your height and weight. Here is the table made by the American Council on Exercise.
Height Size | Exercise Ball |
Under 5' | 45 cm |
Between 5’ and 5’5” | 55 cm |
Between 5’6 and 6’2” | 65 cm |
Over 6’2” | 75 cm |
However, if you choose a smaller ball, such as the one for smart therapy, you will choose based on your hand size. It should be a ball that fits your hand so you can effectively stretch all your hand muscles, yet not too big to invoke unnecessary effort. Here, the best would be to consult your therapist and find the right size.
Learn More: rehab ball, rehabilitation ball, hand exercise ball, therapy ball