exercise balls

Our user asked: "I recently purchased an exercise ball and have been running into conflicting information on their benefits. I was under the impression that sitting on the ball instead on a chair/couch was good for one's spine as well as balance. I am now reading some things that are quite contrary to this, that it causes more spinal compression in fact. However, none of the information I have found is from any reliable sources, it's all "someone told me," or some such information. So I'm curious as to what you might tell someone as to its risks and benefits. Thank You"

Ask a PT Response: "There has been a lot of research done on the use of the Swiss ball (gym ball) in rehabilitation for muscle strength, function and coordination, but very limited published studies done on the use and benefits of the Swiss ball as an office chair.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1924654/. Additional research is definitely required to substantiate the use of the Swiss ball as a replacement for an office chair.

As a PT, the Swiss ball is a great piece of equipment for my patients to utilize to assist with rehabilitation of back pain. Various muscle groups are continuously activated when utilizing the ball. However, over time my patients do experience fatigue with performing the various exercises on the ball. Therefore, taking this in to account, since sitting on a Swiss ball is "active" and various muscles groups are consistently working, there most likely will be a point when the muscle groups may experience fatigue. At this point, the abdominal, back and hip muscles may not be able to provide sufficient support for the spine an may instead result in a posture which could contribute to added stresses to the spine. Therefore, I would not recommend to my patients to utilize the Swiss ball for sitting for prolonged periods. An ergonomic chair would be a much better choice if sitting for prolonged periods will be required. Nevertheless, further research is certainly warranted for the use of the Swiss ball as a replacement for an office chair."