Exercise Ball Side Bridge
Starting
Position
- To perform the
exercise ball side bridge exercise, start by lying
on your side with your arm straight out in front of you resting on the
floor.
- Both feet should be on
the ball with the lower
foot in front of the upper foot.
Action
- Tighten your abdominal
muscles as you have been
instructed
previously, while in your
neutral
position in side lying
- Lift
your hips up so that your body is straight from your heels to your
shoulders.
- You can use your hand
and forearm to help balance yourself.
Prime
Movers
- Abdominal
obliques, quadriceps, hip adductors and abductors.
Physio
Tips
- If
you are not able to lift your hips off the floor all the way, then try
part way. This will start to strengthen your trunk.
- If
you are finding this too difficult, try Floor Side Bridging.
Progression
In
order to prevent pain and injury it is important to become aware of
what your neutral position is while in different postures and
performing different functional activities. Take time before doing this
exercise to familiarize yourself with what this feels like in sidelying.
The
side bridging exercise, whether done on the floor or the exercise
ball biases the muscles on your side including your hips. I see people
in the clinic with back pain that respond very well to side bridging
exercises because often a main contributor to their pain is weak hip
muscles. Hip muscle weakness results in an increase in lumbopelvic
movement, aggravating irritable joints in the lower back.
The
natural
progression of the side bridge/side plank is as follows:
- side
bridging on the floor from your knees to your elbows
-
side
bridge on the floor from knees to your feet
- side bridging on the
floor from your hands to your feet
- side
bridging on the ball - shoulder to feet as above with arm forward
-
side
bridging on the ball from your forearm to feet
with one foot in front of the other
- side bridging on ball
with feet stacked on the ball while on your forearm
You
should master each exercise before trying the next. A goal is to be
able to hold each with perfect form for 30 to 60 seconds - no sagging,
and no shaking, and definitely no pain. If you ever have pain doing an
exercise, see your physical therapist to review its appropriateness.
Hold this position for
10
seconds.
Hold this position for
20
seconds.
Hold this position for
30
seconds or more.
Return
to the top of Exercise Ball Side Bridging