What is an exercise ball chair?

Although many people claim that once you have back pain you have it forever, the exercise ball chair is an alternative therapy product that works to minimize or completely relieve and cure you of your back pain by strengthening the muscles in your back and improving posture.  Moreover, it does so while you are sitting.  Also known as the yoga ball chair and stability ball chair, the exercise ball chair provides a good alternative to both the conventional home or office chair.

The four most popular manufacturers of the chair are Gaiam, Health Mark, Isokinetics, and FitBall.

Exercise ball chair basics

The chair is a no-brainer with easy assembly (with or without following the directions). It’s a yoga ball that sits tightly within a plastic chair base. Some models do come with a backing, but it’s not one that you want to lean on.  As a result, your body is forced to sit up straight.  Because the body when seated is continuously making small adjustments to remain balanced, without effort and unknowingly a person is exercising a large group of muscles.  Strengthening the body’s core muscle group through a process called “active sitting,” a person helps to improve their posture, which leads to increased balance and better protection against back injuries. Moreover, the yoga ball can be taken out of the chair’s base and can be used to perform ab crunches, back extensions, as well as other toning exercises.

With a conventional home or office chair, people hunch over and as a result have poor posture. Practiced continually, these individuals can develop bad sitting habits. However, the alternative therapy benefits offered to individuals who use an exercise ball chair give the body the opportunity to find its own optimal sitting position.  It’s a healing method that allows one’s body to decide the direction.

While the chair does seem simple enough, it is important to remember to ease into using it.  In other words, try sitting on the chair for short periods of time (a couple of hours) and gradually work your way up to sitting on the chair for longer periods of time (the whole day). In time, your body will become accustomed to the constant workout.

A few tips before purchasing your exercise ball chair:

Tip #1 – When first inflating the ball, it’s better to use a pump with more pressure than the one normally included (also check to make sure a pump comes with the chair).

Tip #2 – If the chair you purchase comes with locking wheels, consider putting them on the back.  By putting these two wheels at the back, you prevent yourself from inadvertently locking them with your feet.

Tip #3 – Familiarize yourself with how to utilize the yoga ball to exercise different parts of your body when its not in the chair casing. Practice doing leg exercises, ab exercises as well as balance and stretching exercises.

And as always, it is advised for anyone looking to put extra strain on the body (including using a yoga ball as a chair) to first consult a health care practitioner.

The exercise ball chair can be purchased from many retailers including Amazon, REI, and Target.