I need to offer my experience RE this topic as well. When I showed up at in PT with a torn hamstring one of the issues the PT noticed was a total lack of balance muscles support in my leg. As a runner, I had strong running muscles but not the ones I needed to do things like stand on one leg and balance. We did a combination of things to strengthen these muscles for me. One of the things they did that I found to be incredible was they used a rope bridge that swayed back and forth and side to side when you stood on it. It was wicked unstable. I remember the burn I first felt when I stood still on that bridge. By the end of 5 months I could jump up onto it 1 legged and ride out the sway while throwing a ball at a trapoline and catching the ball on the return. (Talk about circus act) When the PT first told me that we were going to work towards that stunt I thought he was kidding. It became a goal and a game for me.
I cannot believe that this sort of thing is harmful and my experience says that it was indeed very helpful.
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