The balance board has a starring role in sport-specific training and core conditioning programs, but many physical therapists use it for rehabilitation for ankle sprains and neurological balance disorders. Other therapeutic uses of the balance board include post-stroke movement re-education exercises and coordination and equilibrium training for children with Down syndrome.
Frail Seniors
Age-related disorders include impaired balance and altered gait, which make frail seniors susceptible to falls and fractures. The results of a case study performed at the University of Missouri indicate that balance board training may improve overall functionality for senior citizens. Lead author Mary Gunter Gaub, PT, used balance board training along with flexibility exercises in a three-month program with a 101 year old woman. At the end of the program, the patient demonstrated marked improvement in standing balance activities, turning 360 degrees, and the ability to transition from a standing to a seated position.
Sprained Ankles
Proprioception, or your ability to determine your body's position in space, is a key factor in determining your susceptibility to ankle sprains. Once you have sprained an ankle, you lose proprioception, making you more susceptible to future injuries on the same leg. a January, 2010 article on the Evidence-Based Practice website details numerous studies that tested the effectiveness of balance board training for ankle sprain prevention. One study involved 732 male and female Dutch volleyball players during the 2001 to 2002 playing season. Coaches of the intervention group gave their players five-minute proprioception drills, which included balance board training. The control group did not perform balance exercises. Athletes in the intervention group, even those who had experienced previous ankle sprains, were less susceptible to sprains than the control group.
Stroke Victims
Nintendo's interactive Wii game systems may help to rehabilitate stroke victims, reports "Scientific American." The Wii system consists of a balance board and a video game. Many of the Wii games feature sport activities, such as golf, tennis, skiing and snowboarding. As you stand on the balance board and perform athletic movements, the video game provides visual movement feedback. Stroke victim and former tennis player Jerry Pope, age 77, was the first guinea pig. Pope underwent physical therapy at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, but complained of boredom when performing traditional therapeutic exercise. Matthew White, his occupational therapist, put him on the Wii balance board and used the tennis video game. White reported that Pope's reaction time, balance, movement speed and arm movements showed marked improvement.
Down Syndrome
Children with Down syndrome develop their motor skills in the same sequence as other children, but at a slower pace, say specialists on the Down Syndrome Ireland website. Balance skills pose significant challenges, because Down syndrome children have trouble maintaining equilibrium, as they shift their weight forward, backward and side to side. The balance board helps Down syndrome children improve their equilibrium by training them to create safe movement reactions to displacements of their center of gravity, says the "International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation."
References
- Missouri University; Efficacy of Balance and Flexibility Intervention in a Frail Female Centenarian; Mary Gunter Gaub
- Evidence-Based Practice; Current Concepts in the Prevention of Ankle Sprains
- "Scientific American"; Stroke Victims Aided in Motor Function by Playing Home Video Games; Katie Moisse; February 2010
- Daily Mail; Wii Computer Games Help Sroke Victims; Pat Hagan; October 2007
- International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation;Down Syndrome: Sensory Integration, Vestibular Stimulation and Neurodevelopmental Therapy Approaches for Children; Mine Uyanik, Ph.D.
- Dwns Syndrome Ireland: Motor Skills
