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:
“In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“Watteau is no less an artist for having painted a fascia board while Sainsbury’s is no less effective a business for producing advertisements which entertain and educate instead of condescending and exploiting.”
—Stephen Bayley (b. 1951)