Balance board
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[edit] Uses and users
Originally produced for skiers and then surfers to practice their skills in the off season and at night, a balance board is a device that is used in training for all sports and for physical fitness. It is something like a small see-saw that a user stands on with one foot at one end of the board and one foot at the other end. It is used to develop balance, motor coordination skills, weight distribution and core strength; to prepare people, before they reach old age, to avoid injurious falls in old age; to prevent sports injuries, especially to the ankle; for rehabilitation after injuries to several parts of the body; to develop sensory integration and cognitive skills in blind people, in children with autism and in children with other developmental disabilities; to make dancers lighter on their feet; to teach singers optimal posture for the control of air-flow; to teach musicians how to hold their instrument; as an accessory to yoga and as a form of yoga, cultivating self-awareness and calm.
Users who aren't interested in any of those practical purposes use a balance board to entertain themselves; it is a game of thrills that is somewhat frightening because of the almost constant sensation of being at risk of falling in the next moment if one doesn't adjust carefully enough before then.
[edit] Structure
The user/rider/player stands on a board or other platform which is on top of an unstable ground-contacting member, the fulcrum. In some manufacturers' models the fulcrum is attached to the board. The height of the fulcrum of most models is between 3 and 6 inches (i.e., the top of the fulcrum is that distance above the ground). Due to the fulcrum's instability, all of a user's balance skills must be activated and coordinated in order to prevent the board from touching the ground. Thus, the rider stimulates, exercises and teaches the parts of the body and brain that engineer the sense of balance.
The degrees of movement through which the board can move–-sliding, pivoting, rotating, tilting, rolling or some combination of those–-differ in different manufacturers' models, depending on the form of unstable member (fulcrum) and the method by which it is constrained to the board, if any. With each additional degree of movement, the rider must exercise considerably more skill to remain in control of the board.
Positions other than standing are also used, in order to work on particular muscles and skills. See below, under the heading "Fitness Exercises."
[edit] Playing the game: its tension
The opponents in the game are the person (standing at one end of the "see-saw") who made the most recent lean and the person (standing at the other end of it) who will need to make the next lean, in the opposite direction, to fight against the previous one's excess. Those two people aren't actually two different people. They are the left and right (or front and back) halves of the same player, to each of whose halves the other feels like an opponent.
The player is almost always too clumsy to "win" (i.e., to stay balanced for as long as was hoped for) and therefore accepts defeat by landing, i.e., letting one end of the board come to rest on the ground. Until that defeat or until losing the game by the more unpleasant experience of bailing out, i.e., hastily hopping off the board in order to avoid the worst defeat, which is accidentally falling off the board (thereby possibly getting hurt), the player is a human pendulum caught up in a vicious cycle of over-compensations toward the left and right or front and back.
That cycle is too fast for comfort except in occasional moments when the player "finds a groove" (as musicians sometimes do in rhythm) or "catches a wave" (as surfers do when their timing is perfect) and learns to relax enough to make the board stand still. Those moments of grace usually last for a fraction of a second and sometimes for as long as a few seconds. The ineffable satisfaction that is felt in those delicate moments can be communicated only through the eyes and fully appreciated only in the inner ears of the player/rider, where the vestibular system tries all day to calculate where the horizon is with absolute precision in order to achieve balance adequate for standing, walking, turning, sitting, swallowing, handling objects and feeling safe. (If that constant navigational neuro-muscular-skeletal effort and achievement seems like something that can be done on automatic pilot or like anything less than rocket science and magic, close your eyes at the end of this sentence and try standing on one foot or writing or open your eyes and try brushing your teeth while standing on one foot.) In those seconds when a balance board's rider is balanced enough to feel calm and calm enough to keep the board balanced, i.e., stationary, the sensation isn't the kind of relaxation that comes of leaning back in one's favorite chair, getting ready to do nothing for an hour and slowly exhaling. It's a relaxation (if that word can be used for a mode of experience and effort that is more dynamic than a person's usual modes) that comes of having three systems--vestibular, visual and proprioceptive--operating and cooperating at high alert in rare perfect efficiency, in sync and humming like an expensive car's engine. It's a peaceful feeling: power. On a board that can roll backward-forward, it's a state of trance.
The player constantly faces difficult choices. When an imbalance makes the board seem about to land, the player must decide whether to let the board land or to attempt recovering balance by throwing weight in the opposite direction, which often causes a worse imbalance that necessitates hopping off the board. When hopping off (to avoid a fall) seems advisable or necessary, the player must decide whether to accept that defeat or to "go for it" by throwing enough weight to recover balance and stay up on the board. Going for it can result in a worse imbalance that forces a fall. If there is someone watching the player, that choice between prudence and heroics becomes skewed toward risk, especially if there is more than one person or an important person watching. A player who feels about to fall must decide whether to adjust posture in order to soften the fall's impact or make a last-ditch effort to stay on the board (either to avoid defeat or to avoid a fall) by going for broke: throwing a lot of weight to recover balance, which can propel the player up into the air, causing a worse fall than the one that was originally impending.
A factor that complicates the choice between prudence and heroics is that their results can be the opposite of the intention if the rider isn't realistic enough: A lean that was intended for safety may go too far, and a brave thrust that is successful (at keeping the board from landing) obviates the need to bail out (i.e., hop off the board to avoid a fall) when a hurried hop's impact could be hard on the ankle. After gaining some experience, a rider becomes more realistic-- though also more ambitious because of the new agility. An experienced rider seldom needs to hop off and hardly ever falls, unless attempting to do tricks.
[edit] Types of balance boards
[edit] Rocker boards
This is the most basic type of balance board. It comprises a flat board with a bar fixed transversely across the bottom as a fulcrum. Thus, with one foot placed at either end, the board can be tilted from side to side, and the balance point found.
This offers only one degree of movement – part rotation about the transverse axis.
These are generally made by gym equipment and sports manufacturers.
[edit] Wobble boards
The fulcrum of a wobble board is commonly a semi-sphere whose flat side is attached to the center of the board's underside. This allows the board to pivot in all directions during the same ride: forward-backward, left-right and anywhere in between. It exercises muscles that aren't exercised by use of boards that tilt in only two (opposite) directions. In almost all models, the board's length and width are about the same size. A circle is a common shape.
Simpler versions are made by replacing the semi-sphere with two semi-circular sections of wood perpendicular to each other.
These are widely used in child development, gymnasiums, sport training and physiotherapy. They are used on their own and in conjunction with other exercises and equipment.
The wobble board offers full rotation about the vertical axis and part rotation about the transverse and longitudinal axes, therefore having three degrees of movements.
Shopping: The level of challenge of a particular wobble board depends on its incline, which is the angle its flat surface makes with the ground when its edge and the fulcrum are touching the ground. That angle is included in almost all online and printed catalogs' descriptions of their wobble boards. The range of the incline of products on the market is 10 to 20 degrees. A 3-year-old and a 70-year-old can manage a 10-degree board. A fast skier and an experienced yoga practitioner can manage 20 degrees. It takes hours of practice to be ready for an increase of one degree. When that happens, the incline that has already been mastered becomes boring. So, you will need to buy another board then and probably a third one after a while. You can save money by buying the later sizes in advance: either a set of boards that each have a different incline or one board that can be adjusted for three different inclines.
Extreme Balance Board, a well-known brand, is a highly versatile model. It is a combination of wobble board and rocker board that can be configured in various ways for different levels and kinds of challenge.
Wobble boards are made by manufacturers of gym, sports and physical therapy equipment.
[edit] Rocker-Roller boards
These add a degree of instability to the rocker board that makes them much more challenging for the rider than a rocker board is. Two models are shown in the photo at the top of this article and the photo on the right. Rather than on a fixed pivot, the board is placed on a cylindrical roller: a wheel whose two flat ends are at least as far from each other as the width of the board. In most models the axis of the roller is perpendicular to the board's length. Thus, as the rider's weight moves over the roller, the board both tilts from side to side and also slides sideways. In models whose roller can be placed with its axis parallel to the board's length, the board slides and tilts toward the front and back (if the rider's feet are oriented accordingly).
Acrobats, jugglers and other circus performers do stunts on a rocker-roller, which is called a rolla bolla (other spellings: rola bola, rolo bolo, roly boly and each of those four as a single word) in the circus world. Videos of such performances are online, findable via the Videos tab at the top of Google's window. When that tab isn't there, it is accessible via the "More" link at the top of Google's window.
The roller has a different form in different models. Some are a cylinder and some taper toward the two ends. That tapering enables tricky moves by the rider. In almost all models, the roller's diameter is between 3.5 and 6 inches at its widest section. The rollers of the rolla bollas that circus performers use are about 8 inches in diameter. In one non-rolla-bolla model, the Bongo Balance Board, the roller is two wheels that rotate independently of each other on the same axle, allowing the board to roll and turn faster than other models when the rider's lean isn't at exactly 90 degrees to the axle, which it hardly ever is. (The Bongo Balance Board, produced originally by KZT Sports and now produced by FitterFirst, isn't the same model as the Bongo Board, which is no longer produced.)
The ways in which the roller is constrained by the board also vary. Traditional rolla bollas have no constraints. Some boards have only a stop (a guard rail) at each end of their underside to stop the board from sliding off of the roller. Others combine that feature with a feature that keeps the roller lined up with the board: a ridge which runs between the underside's two end-stops longitudinally and a groove around the roller's center that matches that ridge. This transverse guidance keeps the roller's axis parallel to the board's width. If the roller has such a groove, an elastic cord can be run from stop to stop, holding the bottom of the board to the roller when gravity doesn't.
Recently a new pivoting roller board created by Holoholo Board Sports gives riders the ability to ride and pivot/spin the board, making the experience much closer to riding a surfboard or skateboard.
Rocker-roller boards offer the same three degrees of rotation as a wobble board and add a degree of translation along the longitudinal axis, thus having four degrees of movement.
By combining different shapes of board with different forms of roller, constrained in different ways, a rocker-roller board can be given many different characteristics, leading to it being ridden in many different ways. This has made them especially popular with other board riders (e.g. skateboarders, surfers, snowboarders etc.) and has made them a sport in their own right. Tricks can be done on these boards, and competitions are held.
They are also used in child development, gymnasiums, sport training and physiotherapy. They are used on their own and in conjunction with other exercises and equipment.
Getting the knack: Many people who try to learn to ride a rocker-roller board give up after less than 1 minute, convinced by a fall or a near fall that only an acrobat could manage it. But anyone who is under 50 years old who can ride a bicycle without training wheels can learn how to ride a rocker-roller board leftward-rightward if its roller has a groove for crosswise guidance. It takes between 10 and 20 minutes to learn, as long as the rider remembers the 4 numbers that are mentioned in the 3 tips about starting a ride that are on the 1st page of tips in A Guide to Balance Boards That Roll. Toward the end of that 1st 10 or 20 minutes, most people begin to feel that they are acrobats, Olympic athletes or Batman. Learning to ride a rocker-roller board backward-forward shouldn't be attempted before becoming experienced riding one leftward-rightward.
The brand leaders are Vew-Do Boards, Indo Board, Holoholo Board Sports, Bongo Balance Board (by FitterFirst), Scrub (the name under which the Bongo Balance Board is sold in the United Kingdom) and Lush Longboards.
[edit] Sphere-and-Ring boards
Although the concept has been around for years, these weren't produced for marketing until about 2005. The basic principle is to balance the board on a sphere, normally an inflated ball. By redistributing their weight across the board, the rider can move the board in any direction other than vertically. It can also be tilted in any direction as well as fully rotated. Thus, sphere-and-ring boards give the greatest freedom of movement. They, like wobble boards, exercise muscles that aren't exercised by use of boards that tilt only in two (opposite) directions.
For safety, the ball needs a stop such that the board will remain on it. This is normally a ring or wall on the underside of the board. The ball is placed inside the ring, thus when riding the board, if the board is moved too far in any direction, the ball hits the ring, giving the rider a chance to correct it.
Thus the area within the ring is the play area for the board. The bigger the ring, the more the board can be moved around. However, if the ball can move beyond where the rider can place their weight, control may be lost and the rider fall. Therefore, there is a maximum size the ring can safely be for a given rider size. The ring can simply be circular or oblong in shape, or more complicated to use more of the potential play area, while keeping the rider within their safety zone.
These boards are increasingly being used by other board riders as the freedom of movement makes them a more realistic trainer (other than for skateboarding, which is mimicked more closely by a rocker-roller board with a tapered roller). They are also being seen as an activity in their own right, with tricks being adapted for them.
Sphere-and-ring boards also have application in child development, gymnasiums, sport training and physiotherapy.
The sphere-and-ring boards give the most degrees of movement, allowing rotation about all axes and translation in both longitudinal and transverse direction. The only degree missing is translation in the vertical direction. Thus, they have five degrees of movement.
For safety, riding a sphere-and-ring board shouldn't be attempted before becoming experienced riding a rocker-roller board leftward-rightward and backward-forward.
Sphere-and-ring boards are produced by CoolBoard (as shown in photo), Balance360, Si-Boards, and SurfBall.
[edit] WARNING: Injury risk
Balance boards are dangerous. Falling off can tear your cartilage and break your bones, due to the force with which you throw your weight when attempting to prevent the board from landing or to prevent yourself from falling in the opposite direction. The most dangerous are rocker-roller boards and sphere-and-ring boards; due to their speed, "falling off" one of them can be diving onto the floor or flying into a wall.
Wrist-guards and a helmet that blocks the skull and nose are recommended and for beginners are urgently recommended. Knee-pads and elbow-pads are recommended for beginners. The space within six feet of the board in every direction should be clear of furniture, walls, glass and hard or pointy stationary objects. The floor shouldn't be concrete or stone, even if the concrete or stone is covered with wood, linoleum or carpet. Riding a rocker-roller or sphere-and-ring board while under the influence of alcohol or drugs isn't as dangerous as driving under those conditions for the people passing by, but for the rider it is more likely to cause injury than driving because there is no airbag.
For the first two or three minutes of learning to ride a rocker-roller board or sphere-and-ring board, a rider should hold onto (or be held by) another person, more lightly in each next ride. If no person is available, for the first two or three minutes a rocker-roller board's rider should stand inside a doorway, facing its frame, and grasp, push against or touch the frame, more lightly in each next ride. Being that close to a hard object could be unsafe, but it is less unsafe than riding for the first time without any support. It should be a doorway that doesn't have a threshold and whose door doesn't have a door knob. A sphere-and-ring board needs more room around it than a doorway gives.
[edit] Fitness exercises
For particular muscles and skills, there are exercises that are done either while standing on a balance board (e.g., squats) or while contacting it in positions other than standing. For example, a user can lie face-down, with only the toes or knees contacting the ground, and press down on the board with the hands to do challenging pushups.
Other exercises and positions are shown in photos, videos and instructions at the websites of some balance-board manufacturers. The URLs of such videos and of manufacturers' websites are listed in the online PDF file A Guide to Balance Boards That Roll in its Videos section and its Catalog section. The Variations section of that PDF guide lists some exercises and some online sources of exercises.
The maneuvers for rocker-roller-board riding that are listed in Wikipedia's Rola Bola article under the heading "Rolla Bolla Skills" are more complex and challenging and less muscle-drilling than fitness exercises. They are performers' tricks and stunts. Diagrams, photos and videos of tricks and instructions for learning them are at some manufacturers' websites.
A contest for two opponents standing on balance boards: facing each other in a tug-of-war. Winning means the other player landed or let go of the rope. Besides pulling hard on the rope, two ways to try to win are faking the intention to pull or suddenly loosening the grip while the other player is pulling hard. This exercise is used by the U.S. Ski Team, with players standing on unspecified balance devices, according to the 2007 book Balance: In search of the lost sense by Scott McCredie. (The book is described at the end of this Wikipedia article, under the heading "External Links.") In the book's appendix, McCredie lists this tug-of-war among several one-person exercises provided to him by the ski team's trainer, Per Lundstam. If a tug-of-war is played on balance boards that roll, players are likely to fall and should wear the four kinds of safety equipment that are mentioned above, under the heading "WARNING: Injury Risk."
Two books of exercises that are illustrated by about three photos for each exercise:
Potvin, Andre Noel & Benson, Chad (2003). The Great Balance and Stability Handbook. Surrey, British Columbia: Productive Fitness Products.
Karter, Karon (2007). Balance Training: Stability workouts for core strength and a sculpted body. Berkeley, California: Ulysses Press.
Most of the exercises in those two books are for doing on balance devices other than balance boards: foam roller, balance cushion, balance ball or BOSU. The exercises there that are done on a balance board are shown being done only on a rocker board or a wobble board. Most of them can be done also on a board that rolls if the user is experienced enough and willing to risk injury.
[edit] Video game complements
A conventional (non-electronic) balance board can be connected to the Wii video game console, which was released by Nintendo in 2006, by tying the wireless remote control of the Wii to the balance board. The screen then displays a live (i.e., simultaneous) representation of the ride, viewable by the rider and any other people in the room, that is more sophisticated than a realistic video of a ride. The display uses psychedelic animation effects. A 40-second online video of a rider watching a Nintendo Wii screen's representation of his ride while he rides a balance board is at the homepage of Holoholo Board Sports, above a caption that mentions a wireless remote.
That feature is not the same as what is presented by the Wii Balance Board, which is an accessory to the Wii video game console. The Wii Balance Board, which was released by Nintendo in 2007, isn't a balance board (in the sense that that term is used in in the world of English-speaking sports equipment makers and users). The Wii Balance Board is a stationary platform that lies flat on the floor that translates the shifts of a user's bodyweight into psychedelic animation effects on the screen. This device is combined with the Wii Fit software for physical fitness exercises.
A simple homemade video game, BongoPong, connects a conventional (non-electronic) balance board by wire to a video screen which displays a simultaneous representation of the ride, viewable by the rider and any other people in the room. The display translates the movement and pressure of the rider's left and right feet (via their effects on the board) into the movement of paddles hitting a ball to each other. Clicking on the BongoPong link leads to a webpage that near its bottom has a 90-second video of a rider watching a video screen's BongoPong representation of his ride while he is riding. That webpage has links to three blog posts that give narration of the creation of BongoPong (with about twelve dollars' worth of materials, not counting what it cost to build a conventional balance board), but they don't give instructions for building the device. That narration and the accompanying photos might be enough to let an electronics person know how to build it. Its creator can be emailed from a link there.
[edit] External links
- A Guide to Balance Boards That Roll is a 30-page PDF text that includes the URLs of sellers of 40 models, the URLs of 75 video clips, tips for training and safety and explanations of why using a balance board develops athletic, cognitive and artistic skills and a less impetuous relationship with gravity and other forces that can't be controlled.
- the Bongo Board of the 1950's-1970's, shown in photos, a Newsreel video and official patent drawings, with information about its origin and inventor and about other devices that were based on its design. The groove in the Bongo Board's roller gave it the crosswise guiding that made it the first rocker-roller board controllable enough and safe enough for non-circus performers to ride. (The balance board in the photo at the top of this Wikipedia article is a Bongo Board.)
- McCredie, Scott (2007). Balance: In search of the lost sense. New York: Little, Brown. This book's contents: a survey of scientific discoveries about the sense of balance in the 19th through 21st centuries; descriptions of people (e.g., pilots, toddlers, patients, acrobats) and animals whose normal or abnormal sense of balance enables the reader to understand and feel what scientists have explained; analyses of the constant and mostly unconscious operations of the sense of balance in the management of many of a person's basic activities and functions; descriptions of how sophisticated, limited and precarious the normal human sense of balance is; current theories of the influence of the sense of balance on a child's cognitive development and on human evolution; a survey of prostheses and other bio-engineering solutions currently being developed to restore the ability to sense balance input in people whose injuries have damaged or destroyed that ability; and how-to information for the general public on improving one's balance skills. The last words of the book's subtitle allude to three phenomena that are sketched in the next-to-last paragraph of the "Brains and Music" section of A Guide to Balance Boards That Roll.
