Weak Core? Not Your Boring Abs Exercise 👧🏻🟣 | Exercise Ball Activities #35

👧🏻🟣 Therapy Ball Exercise for Core & Arm Strength | Leia (Age 10) | Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercise Ball Activities Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjPlhWjeNnIY3PWbHwrSUtgN In this video, my co-instructor Leia (age 10) and I work on a strengthening activity using a therapy ball to challenge her arms, core muscles, and balance. Leia begins with her knees on top of the therapy ball and her hands on the floor. From this position, she slowly rolls the ball backward by straightening her body and then pulls it back in under control. The movement requires her to support her body weight through her arms while maintaining trunk stability and controlling the position of the ball. --- We are working on: • Arm, shoulder, and upper body strength • Core activation and stability • Lower abdominal strengthening • Postural control • Dynamic balance • Body awareness and coordination --- As Leia rolls the ball away from her body, the exercise becomes more challenging because her arms and trunk must work together to maintain alignment and control. You'll notice that the therapy ball naturally wants to drift from side to side. Controlling that movement requires continuous adjustments through the shoulders, trunk, and hips. Later, I place Leia's hands on a dining room chair, thinking the higher hand position might make the activity easier. Instead, the narrower base of support created by the chair made the activity more challenging than I expected. You'll even hear Leia comment on how hard it is—a rare occurrence for her, since she usually prefers to make activities look easy! This is a good reminder that changing an activity doesn't always affect only one variable. While raising the hands can reduce some of the demand, narrowing the base of support can increase the balance and stability challenge. --- 🧠 A clinical takeaway I often share: Sometimes small changes in positioning can dramatically change the difficulty of an activity. When modifying an exercise, it's important to consider not only strength demands but also balance, stability, and base of support. --- ⏱️ Video Chapters 0:00 Intro & meet Leia 0:15 Starting position on the therapy ball 0:34 Rolling the ball out 0:57 Pulling the ball back in 1:03 Variation using a dining room chair 1:58 Clinical observations & takeaway --- 👧🏾 This activity may be helpful for children who: 👦🏻 Need improved core strength 👧🏽 Are working on arm and shoulder stability 🧒🏿 Need lower abdominal strengthening 👩🏼‍🦱 Are developing balance and body control 👦🏾 Benefit from playful strengthening activities --- 👉🏾 This activity can be modified by: • Changing the height of hand support • Widening or narrowing the base of support • Decreasing the distance the ball rolls • Slowing the movement • Providing additional support as needed --- 📚 My Books for Kids & Therapists Children’s Books "P is for Poop and Pee Accidents" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 "A is for Anxiety" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V "A is for ADHD" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR "C is for Cerebral Palsy" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP "D is for Down Syndrome" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 "A is for Autism" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB Professional Books "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 "Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD 📧 Contact [amysturkey@gmail.com](mailto:amysturkey@gmail.com) 🌍 Captions Help Everyone 🌍 I carefully review captions so more people can follow along, even if English isn’t your first language 🧑🏿‍🤝‍🧑🏻👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏼👩🏽‍🤝‍👩🏻 To turn on captions: Click CC To change the language: Settings (⚙️) → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate 🌐 --- ⚠️ Important note: Strengthening and balance activities should always be matched to the child's individual needs and abilities. What is helpful for one child may not be appropriate for another 👶🏿↔️👧🏻 (Please note: I cannot provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated.) 👩🏽‍⚕️📌