Balance Exercises for Soccer Players on Bosu after a Hip, Knee or Ankle Injury.
Introduction
While initial rehab and strength training primarily focus on movements in the frontal and sagittal planes, any sport is hardly performed in these planes alone and it’s very important for the Trunk, Hip ,knee and ankle to be challenged to multi-directional demands that will transfer to running, planting, cutting, and jumping!
Multi-directional Lower Extremity stability is important for both end-stages of rehab and injury prevention, as well as can improve overall sport performance!
The BOSU ( or any imitation) is a great tool to achieve optimal balance in your lower extremities because it creates an unstable surface to challenge your joints in all directions and you will have to put all your muscles to work in order to keep your balance making it a great tool for strengthening and coordination in all the stages of recovery.
The sequence of exercises I will show you are designed to follow a progression from easy to hard to perform so don't skip any steps and do the whole challenge.
🎥 # 1 - Side to Side Challenge
Great Entry-Level exercises , easy to do….
One leg flexes while the other gets completely straight.
Recommended : 3 sets of 10-20 repetitions.
🎥 # 2 - Squats
Here is where the real challenge begins…
Start with ¼ Squat Depth and progress to ½ and full Depth when ready.
Your legs will shake a lot during the Bosu Squats , don’t panic and try to improve little by little till you don’t shake at all .
Recommended : 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions.
🎥 # 3 - Initial Balance
Another Great Great Entry-Level exercise.
The focus here is on Holding the Balance on one foot after the initial contact, holding it steady for 5 full seconds…, the reset and starting over.
Recommended : 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions each leg.
🎥 # 4 - Running Mechanics or Running Simulation
It’s important to be able to hold good balance on one leg which is the primary focus while running.
Start with a very slow movement, short stride simulation and then open the movement to your full capacity
Recommended : 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions each leg.
🎥 # 5 - Three-Way Challenge
Here you will have to really concentrate and feel the balance holding throughout the whole leg in order to be able to perform this exercise properly.
Your body will shake a lot during this one , don’t panic and try to improve little by little till you don’t shake at all .
Do it slowly and always return to the erect position before heading into a new one.
Recommended : 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. each leg.
🎥 # 6 - Over a Barrier
Finally you can challenge the body even more by using bands or other objects to focus the work of a specific area of the Kinetic Chain.
In this case the band is forcing me into valgus so I need to keep my right hip abductor and external rotators active and my foot stable at all times to prevent the band taking me into valgus deviations .
Forcing our body to be stable in certain planes of movement while being to move through others.
Recommended : 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. each leg.
White Bay Sports Physical Therapy is a Sports-Injury clinic that specializes in Sports Injuries.
Lionel Pannunzio is a Physical Therapist Certified in Sports Injuries. With more than 20 years of experience helping athletes return to their sports after an injury. He is the Owner of White Bay Sports Physical Therapy and Fitness, conveniently located in the beautiful City of Weston, where he treats Soccer Players and Athletes of all ages
where you will receive information about your condition and other services we offer, always with the idea of keeping you healthy and fit to enjoy your favorite sport.
Lionel Pannunzio - Physical Therapist
Board-Certified Sports Specialist
Owner of White Bay Physical Therapy
754-244-2561
Miramar Office
3110 Commerce Parkway - Miramar - Florida - 33025
Weston Office
2751 Executive Park Dr. unit 202 - Weston - Florida - 33331