Wobble Boards and other such things

[Dexy5]

Physiotherapists aren’t able to do face to face sessions now, except for certain categories, so I hope I will be given advice on the phone again on Friday. But I do know balance is something I will need to work on next, for both ankles and knees.

I think some people have used balance boards to help strengthen ankles. eBay has quite a choice, so are there any recommendations from you lovely running people?

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

I got one for my birtday. I think it's this one amazon.co.uk/Wooden-Board-E...

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to linda9389]

Thanks Linda, I’ve now got FaceTime with the physio this afternoon so I can chat with him about the options

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Can’t recommend a wobble board as I’ve never used one, but I can highly recommend yoga Dexy. Lots of leg strength and balancing poses to help your knee. Do you know of Yoga with Adriene? Lots of us on here use her, and she’s fab. If yoga’s not your bag, disregard all this! 😅

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I’m missing my Pilates classes cheeky so I might take a look at the yoga .

Just had my email to say vitality1000 is cancelled, unsurprisingly. They are going to try and postpone an awful lot of runs to autumn! Depending on date I might slip it forward to next year instead. We will have to see when we are out of this.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Dexy5]

I did too. October is looking pretty busy at the moment, so I’ll have to see when the deferred date is too. Next year might make more sense.

Not surprised about getting the email though ...... 🙁

[Jazzyrunner]

I’ve got the PhysioRoom one, which I got from Amazon, and it seems well made. I like it because the central bit that you wobble on is a semi-sphere not a cube, so I feel it’s gentler than some I’ve seen. Hope that makes sense!

[2718281 Half Marathon]

I use the decathlon one, I really like it:

decathlon.co.uk/balance-boa...

[Katnap Marathon]

The low tech solution... Stand on one leg with your eyes shut.

Sounds easy, but isn't.

Really helps strength and balance.

Do it to help out any imbalance in leg muscles.

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Katnap]

Thanks Katnap, Yes I think I'll stick to that, as its also one I was given for my weak ankle - always the same leg!

[BaddieThePirate]

I tried one and got bored after two times. You can practice standing on one foot. Cheaper and you don't have to store the board...

[SlowLoris]

Standing on a cushion on one leg. If that's too easy do it eyes closed. Or eyes open try and touch the eight main compass point with the big toe of the other foot, as far away from the cushion as you can.

My physio told me not to bother with the wobble board until I'd mastered that lot first.

[Dexy5 10 Miles]

Thank you everyone. Standing on one leg on the floor is hard enough at the moment, so I will concentrate on that and my pilates balance exercises. That's saved an online delivery.

Also, I had a FaceTime discussion with my physio this afternoon and he has sent me exercises to do over the next 2 weeks to stretch hamstrings and get glutes working again to take the strain off the ligament. The good news is that my recovery seems to be on track for this type of injury. He wouldn't even take a consultation fee. Great guy.

[JonathanP 10 Miles in reply to Dexy5]

Glad to hear your virtual consultation went well and what a generous physio!😀

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to JonathanP]

He is great JonathanP, because I was happy to pay for his time. He has signed up as an NHS volunteer too as he can’t run his business at the moment.

[Oldfloss Administrator]

I had Physio for my Achilles rupture and it was so useful! Wooden one, I think..but cannot remember the name...The Physiotherapist and I had lot of giggles when I first tried it!

But I had a lot of exercises to do prior to using it...

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Oldfloss]

Warning taken Oldfloss. Yes, I’ll be sticking to the exercises given by physio now that we’ve had our chat. I’ve learned the hard way that pushing a shopping trolley is not good exercise for it and am now reclined on the sofa.

[Coddfish 10 Miles]

In the good old days when we could go in the gym, I regularly used a BOSU. It’s flat on one side and ball shaped on the other, you can use it either way up. They are expensive to buy, although cheaper similar products exist. However there’s been a rather large run on home exercise equipment for obvious reasons, so stock and delivery a likely problem.

Try just standIng one legged, bare feet, for about a minute each side. Then try doing the same thing on a softer surface, eg a yoga mat, or a cushion. All of it helps ankle proprioception.

[Dexy5 10 Miles in reply to Coddfish]

Thanks Coddfish. Now that I’ve got my exercise plan from the physio, I’ll stick to that for a while. But the standing on one leg trick did help with my dodgy ankle.