A balance board is a device used for recreation, balance training, athletic training, brain development, therapy, musical training and other kinds of personal development.
It is a lever similar to a see-saw that the user usually stands on, usually with the left and right foot at opposite ends of the board. The user's body must stay balanced enough to keep the board's edges from touching the ground and to keep from falling off the board.
A different challenge is presented by each of the four basic types of balance boards and their subtypes. Some of them can be attempted successfully by three-year-olds and elderly people, and some, because of their steepness and speed, are difficult and dangerous for professional athletes.
In their design, what differentiates the four types (and their subtypes) is how unstable each of them is, i.e., in how many and in which of the three dimensions of space each board turns and/or sways and how freely its fulcrum contacts the board and the ground.
Read more about Balance Board: Uses and Users, Structure, Psychological Aspects, Injury Risk and Prevention
Famous quotes containing the words balance and/or board:
“At last I feel the equal of my parents. Knowing you are going to have a child is like extending yourself in the world, setting up a tent and saying “Here I am, I am important.” Now that I’m going to have a child it’s like the balance is even. My hand is as rich as theirs, maybe for the first time. I am no longer just a child.”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 5 (1978)
“This morning I threw up at a board meeting. I was sure the cat was out of the bag, but no one seemed to think anything about it; apparently it’s quite common for people to throw up at board meetings.”
—Jane Wagner (b. 1935)