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Core Stability Using a Swiss
Ball
Steve Fischer, MSc
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Outline
Current Swiss Ball Uses
Swiss ball Claims
Our StudyCurrent Research
Evidence Based Conclusions
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Shoulder Rolls
With the Swiss ball under yourshoulders, roll 6 to 8 inches tothe left and right 10 timeseach. Work up to 2 sets.
Back ArchWith the ball in the middle of yourback and your arms at your side,reach back and touch the ground.Hold that position for 10 seconds andslowly return to center. Do 5repetitions.
Leg Extensions
With the ball in the middle ofyour back, extend one legstraight out and hold for 5seconds. Use your arms for
balance. Do 10 repetitions foreach foot, and work up to 2 sets.
Back RaisesWith your stomach on the ball, lie
face down with your hands on theground. Raise your shoulders andarch your back up as high as youcan, then slowly return. Do this10 times, and work up to 2 sets.
http://www.jumpusa.com/swissexercises2.html
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Sit-Backs
Sit on the Swiss ball and slowlylean back, taking your feet off the
ground. Use your arms for
balance. Lean back as far as you
can and hold it for 5 seconds. Do
5 repetitions.
Forward LeansWith your stomach on the Swiss
ball, lean forward while bringing
your legs up as high as you can
off the ground. Lower your head
and use your arms to balance. Do
5 repetitions.
Leg RaisesWith your stomach on the Swiss ball and your arms out for balance,
raise one leg as high as you can and hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 for
each leg.
http://www.jumpusa.com/swissexercises2.html
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Side-to-Side Leg Rolls
In a push-up position with theSwiss ball under your legs, roll theball side to side. As you get to the
right side, let your right foot comeoff the ball so only your left leg isrolling. As you come back, bringthe right foot back on. Repeat for
left side. Do ten reps for each side,
and work up to 3 sets.
One-armed push-upsWith the Swiss ball under yourlegs, do 5 one-armed push-ups.You may have to squeeze the
Swiss ball with your legs to getthe right position. Work up to 2sets for each arm.
CrunchesPut your hands behind your headand tolt your shoulders and chest
up to the center, to the left, and tothe right(shown). Do 10repetitions for each direction.
Sideways CrunchesLie sideways and relax yourupper body. Bend your upper
body toward the person(orcouch) and slowly return. Do 10
repetitions for each side.
http://www.jumpusa.com/swissexercises2.html
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The exercise ball is effective in rehabilitation
of the back because it helps strengthen and
develop the core body muscles that help tostabilize the spine
The instability of the exercise ball provides
the body with constant opportunities toevaluate its orientation in space, developing
and training the bodys natural awareness.
Enhanced proprioception provides the body
with increased balance and stability.
(www.spine-health.com)
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According to the researchers, although
crunches on an exercise ball generated
less activity in the obliques and rectus
abdominus than some of the other
exercises, the exercise also generated
significantly less activity in the thighmuscle, making it more targeted to the
abs and the best overall exercise.
(www.acefitness.org)
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80% of our population will experience
some kind of back pain in their life.
Now, using Gymnastic Balls, the badposture, poor body mechanics and
inflexibility can be replaced with proper
conditioning and balancing of trunkmusculature. Maintaining perfect
posture with a ball is fun, exhilarating
and effective. (bodytrends.com)
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Fitness trainer Paul J Goodman argues that
Swiss ball-based exercises are the key to
effective improvements in trunk strength. Asactions performed on the ball involve greater
stimulation of the neuromuscular system,
users develop better balance, coordination
and proprioception, Goodman says.These assertions are not backed up by any
research references rather, they come from
Goodmans experience working with clients
using Swiss balls.
(sportsinjurybulletin.com)
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Anatomy Refresher
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Scientific Evidence
Drake J, Fischer, Brown SH, Callaghan JP (In Press).
Do Exercise Balls Provide A Training Advantage For Trunk
Extensor Exercises? A Biomechanical Evaluation.Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
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Purpose
To examine the spine posture, spine loading,
and trunk muscle activation for 3 common
back extension exercises on both a stable
(mat) and unstable (ball) surface.
Hypothesis: The ball condition will illicit
higher muscle activation and higher lumbarspine loading as compared to the mat
condition.
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Methods
Participants:8 physically active (>3 times per week) malesMean age = 23.4 years (+/- 1.8 years)
Mean height = 1.76 m (+/- 0.04 m)Mean Mass = 79.5 kg (+/- 7.5 kg)
All participants were free of any back pain atleast for the preceding year.
The protocol was approved by the Universityof Waterloos Research and Ethics ReviewBoard
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Participant Setup
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Statistics
Two-way repeated measures analysis ofvariance (ANOVA) were used to test the effectsof exercises, and surface conditions for EMG,spine postures, and loading variables.
A least squared means test was used to deciphersurface exercise interactions.
In all tests, the 95% (p=0.05) level of confidencewas used for rejection of the null hypothesis.
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Results:
Muscle Co-contraction
0
20
40
60
80
100
Back Extension Contralateral Single Leg
Extension
Reference
Posture
%Co-contraction
Trunk Extensor Exercises
A
B
MatBall
Ref.B
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Results: L4/L5 Joint
Compression
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000 Mat
Ball
Ref.
Single Leg
ExtensionReference
PostureBack Extension Contralateral
Trunk Extensor Exercise
L4/L5Joint Compression(N) B B
C C
A
A
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Results:
L4/L5 Joint Shear
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
L4/L5JointAPShear
Trunk Extensor Exercise
Back Extension Contralateral Single Leg
Extension
Reference
Posture
MatBallRef.
A
A
B
B
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Conclusion
For a young, healthy population, there
appears to be no training advantage to
using the exercise ball for the givenextension exercises.
The reduced activation and decreased
loading may however be well suited to
rehabilitating populations unable to
withstand higher loads.
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Scientific EvidenceAnderson KG and Behm DG. 2004
Behm DG et al. 2005
Marshall PW et al. 2005Stanton R et al. 2004
Tse MA et al. 2005
Hildernbrand K and Noble L. 2004
Mori A. 2004Vera Garcia FJ et al. 2000
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Research Analysis
Variables
Author Spine Load Force Output EMG Function Tests
Anderson KG and Behm DG. 2004 X YES YES X
Behm DG et al. 2005 X X YES X
Marshall PW et al. 2005 X X YES X
Stanton R et al. 2004 X X X YES
Hildernbrand K and Noble L. 2004 X X YES X
Mori A. 2004 X X YES X
Vera Garcia FJ et al. 2000 X X YES XDrake J et al. In Press YES X YES X
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Research From the Rock
Anderson & Behm 2004
Examined Chest
Press on ball
Increased activation
on ball
Decreased maximum
force output
Behm et al. 2005
Examined a series of
core exercises
Ball elicits higher
muscle activation
Superman elicits
highest activation***
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Marshall et al. 2005
University of Auckland
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Hildenbrand and Noble 2004
Kansas State University
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Vera-Garcia et al. 2000
University of Waterloo Unstable surface
caused increases inmuscle activity andactivation patterns
Unstable surfaceprovides greaterdemand on the motor
system, but may causehigh load demands onthe spine
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Does Core Training on the Ball
Increase Performance?
Stanton et al. 2004
Studies effects of 6
week ball training
program on running
economy
Core stability scores
increasedNo increase in running
performance
Tse et al. 2005
Studies effects of 8
week ball training
program on rowing
performance
Core stability scores
increasedNo increase in rowing
performance
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Safety in Ball Use
McGill (2002) discusses when and howto implement Swiss ball useRehabilitation should focus on establishing
positive slope of improvement on stablesurfaces first!
New users may not have the core stabilityor motor programming to effectively use a
ball without assistanceDo not ignore increased spine load
demands with Swiss ball use
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Sitting on the Ball
www.bodytrends.com/ballchar.htm
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Bringing It All Together
Ball Advantages
Higher activation
Greater recruitment
of stabilizersProvides adequate
training stimulus forrectus abdominus
Ball Disadvantages
Imposes higher loaddemands
Increases need forpelvic stability
Decreased ability toproduce max force
No link to increasesin performance
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Questions?