The therapy ball is a common sight in every physiotherapy and occupational therapy department or clinic. It has become ubiquitous in gyms and seen in homes as well.
Every physiotherapist whether working with children or
adults will have some experience working with the therapy ball. As a pediatric
therapist in Bangalore, more than 90% of my parents have proudly reported to me
– we have a therapy ball.
What does the child do with it? They love bouncing
on it.
What size is your ball? A very big size.
Why did you buy it? Our therapist asked us to buy the
biggest size possible.
Such conversations have been common with most parents,
and make me feel somewhat uncomfortable. My concern is safety. A young child
being unsupervised and bouncing on a ball uncontrollably on hard floor makes me
nervous. Young children with autism, ADHD, sensory processing dysfunction, and other
diagnoses are highly likely to have lack of safety awareness.
My strong belief is that the therapy ball is ‘a tool’
in our therapy toolbox and not ‘the only tool’ in pediatrics. It is another
medium to facilitate movement, alignment, and posture.
There is much more to ball beyond bouncing on it. The reality is that the therapy ball has many uses and benefits that
therapists need to understand and possibly explain some information to the
parents or our adult patients. We also need to keenly observe the relationship of
the ball’s size to the changing posture and alignment in our clients.
Therapy ball can be used for many purposes --
·
making movement easier for our
clients who have issues with muscle tone
·
challenge their balance
·
provide vestibular stimulation
·
provide movement to children who
don’t experience movement frequently
·
facilitate weight-bearing on upper
extremities
·
learning to roll the ball, bounce,
and catch is sometimes easier with the therapy ball rather than a regular 8”
ball
·
Entice and attract children
Therefore, just like any form of intervention in PT, therapists need to think about WHAT & WHY of using a ball. While on a ball in any position, is the child’s posture better, is the alignment of body segments altered, which muscle is being lengthened, which muscle group is working concentrically / eccentrically?
Size of the ball highly matters and varies with your
therapeutic purpose of using the ball.
In many instances, parents have informed me that their infant or toddler would cry throughout the session while on a therapy ball. Possibly the child is gravitationally insecure, or dislikes the prone position the ball, or feels unsafe while being seated on the ball. It is then prudent to work with the baby in mom’s lap or therapist lap. A toddler can be seated on a small stool / bench or positioned prone on a wedge / pillow.
Prolonged sitting due to screen work seems like a necessity for IT professionals. Sitting for long hours leads to back and neck pain that can sometimes escalate to debilitating levels. One of the multiple modes to counter this is to sit on a therapy ball instead of a chair. Sitting on a therapy ball permits subtle bounces and movements, helps you to make postural adjustments, and compels you to stand up frequently. It becomes a way of preventing static sitting. The size of the ball needs to be chosen well so as to promote comfort and optimal alignment of the body. To some of my back patients, I have suggested sitting on the therapy ball while working at a computer, after educating them about the size of the ball, posture, and how long at a time.
