Wobble/Rocker Boards – Buyer’s Guide
Wobble boards, wobble cushions, rocker boards and bongo boards are all devices that incorporate a surface that is difficult to balance on. Maintaining balance depends on the ability of your body to know where a joint is positioned, without your having to look at it.
This is known as proprioception, a sense which is important for preventing ankle injury and knee injury, as it improves the ability of the neuromuscular system to make fine alterations to movements during sports, which can prevent a sprained ankle or twisted knee.
The primary purpose of wobble boards, wobble cushions, rocker boards and bongo boards is to improve your proprioception. Physiotherapy exercises intended to remedy a sprained ankle or a knee ligament injury always include proprioception exercises.
This Buyer’s Guide will help you to choose the best proprioception apparatus to help you prevent and treat knee and ankle injuries.
Wobble Boards
A wobble board is a wooden disc or square fixed to a rounded base that you try to balance on. In trying to balance, you have to make continual small adjustments in the position of your ankles and knees, which strengthens the muscles of your calf and thigh, improves your proprioception and develops your core stability.
Wobble Boards Product Range
Wobble Cushion
A wobble cushion is an inflatable disc or dome, which works in a similar way to a wobble board to improve your proprioception. The cushion moves underneath your feet in an unpredictable way, forcing you to use the supporting muscles of your legs and trunk to remain stable. This improves your balance and core stability and makes you less prone to ankle sprain and knee injury.
Wobble Cushion Product Range
Wobble Boards and Cushions
Wobble boards, wobble cushions, rocker boards and tilt boards are frequently used by physiotherapists in the treatment and rehabilitation of sports injuries such as a sprained ankle and following knee surgery and ankle surgery. The main uses of these products are to improve flexibility, concentration, balance and overall awareness (also known as proprioception).
Proprioception is the body's ability to know where a joint is positioned without having to look at it. Proprioception is important for ankle and knee injury prevention because it improves the ability of the neuromuscular system to make fine alterations to movements during sports that can prevent a twisted ankle or twisted knee. Physiotherapy exercises always incorporate proprioception exercises, especially during sprained ankle or knee ligament injury rehabilitation.
Balance Wobble Boards allow balance and proprioception improvement because they force the user to make continual adjustments in order to keep the board steady. A balance/wobble board is a disc with a rounded bottom that provides a challenging surface to balance on. These boards can also be used to help increase ankle range of motion following a sprained ankle injury.
While wobble cushions can also aid flexibility and balance for ankle injuries etc, they are more commonly used as seating aids for children to improve concentration and to prevent fidgeting.
