History of the Swiss Ball

Abstract

The ball has been used in physical therapy for neurodevelopmental treatment for about 40 years (Oetterly and Larsen 1996). I first became familiar with it during my training with Berta and Karel Bobath in 1967 in London and extended my experience with it while working in Switzerland from 1968 to 1970 and from 1976 to 1984 in a physical therapy practice in Munich, Germany. In the physical therapy practice I began using the smaller Pezzi ball. At first this was used with children to facilitate movements while they were on the table or kneeling or sitting on a mat on the floor. I then began using the Pezzi ball to treat adult patients with orthopedic and neurological dysfunctions and to teach ball exercise classes to physical therapists.