Exercise ball

The physical object known as a "Swiss Ball" was developed in 1963 by Aquilino Cosani, an Italian plastics manufacturer.

[1] According to American physical therapist Joanne Posner-Mayer, the use of the exercise ball as a therapy tool probably begins with the Swiss pediatrician Dr. Elsbeth Köngan, an early advocate of the Bobath concept.

Klein-Vogelbach advocated the use of ball techniques to treat adults with orthopedic or medical problems.

In 1995, Joanne Posner-Mayer published a book "Swiss Ball Applications for Orthopedic and Sports Medicine" in the US.

[6] The fastest time to jump across 10 swiss balls is 7.8 seconds and was achieved by Neil Whyte (Australia) on the set of CCTV - Guinness World Records Special in Beijing, China on 12 January 2016.The most push-ups performed on 4 swiss balls in one minute is 31 and was achieved by Neil Whyte (Australia) on the set of CCTV Guinness World Records Special in Beijing, China, on 17 August 2011.

Sitting on the ball with arms placed on a bed, table or otherwise sturdy object for support and gently rocking the hips may help with the contractions and aid the natural physiological process of birth.

[18] However, using the ball as an alternative to normal seating (such as in the office) can result in discomfort due to the lack of back support.

An exercise class using exercise balls
A wide range of exercises can be performed with an exercise ball.
A woman performing weighted sit-ups on an exercise ball.