Balance Exercises

Health Clinic Bankstown

Balance Exercises

How can they help?

Most daily activities require good balance. Balance exercises are specific movements that increase your body’s awareness and control in relation your surroundings. Injuries, especially lower limb injuries, have potential to lead to poor balance. Balance exercises can be used as part of a rehabilitation program to help improve your stability and prevent re-injury.

What conditions can they help?

  • Can help the elderly improve their balance and reduce their risk of falls, which has favourable effects on maintaining independence for longer
  • Ankle injuries such as ligament sprains/ tears, e.g. rolled ankle
  • Knee surgery, e.g. ACL reconstruction or repair
  • Knee injuries, e.g. meniscal injury, ligament strain

How do they work?

Balance exercises try and re-educate your body about specific movements without consciously think about it. There is a move from conscious to subconscious state. It is critical to master this mind-muscle connection to reduce the risk of re-injury and ensure your everyday activities are pain-free.

Examples of Balance exercises

Balance Exercises

The wobble board is used in rehabilitation of an ankle sprain

Balance Exercises

Single leg standing

Balance Exercises

Single leg squat on foam

As you progress through your rehabilitation, your therapist will increase the difficulty of your exercises to ensure you continue to improve. They may prescribe balance exercises in different positions or while standing on different objects (e.g. foam or a pillow). Click on the video link below to see an example of this.