A large, inflatable rubber ball used for exercise and physical therapy to improve balance, core strength, and posture by creating an unstable surface that challenges stabilizing muscles.
Compound from 'stability' (Latin 'stabilitas' meaning firmness) and 'ball' (Old Norse 'böllr'). Originally called a 'Swiss ball' after being developed by Italian manufacturer Aquilino Cosani in 1963 and first used by Swiss physical therapists, hence the ironic name since it creates instability.
The stability ball was originally invented as a toy called the 'Gymnastik' ball, but Swiss physical therapists in the 1960s discovered that sitting and exercising on an unstable surface dramatically improved patients' core strength and spinal health!
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