Hand exercise balls, such as stress balls and Baoding balls, are used to exercise hand muscles and relieve tension. Stress balls are made of foam rubber and can be customized with logos, while Baoding balls are hollow spheres designed to improve hand strength and manual dexterity. Beginners should start with 45mm balls and work up to 60mm.
Hand exercise balls come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are designed to exercise your hand muscles, keeping them healthy and fit. The two most common hand exercise balls are stress balls and Baoding balls. Stress balls are not always spherical in shape and can be used by those concerned with carpal tunnel syndrome and similar hand problems. Baoding balls are believed to have been created during the Chinese Ming Dynasty, and at least two of them are required to provide an effective exercise technique.
Stress balls are small balls for hand exercises, usually made of foam rubber. They must be squeezed by hands and fingers. As well as exercising the muscles in the hand, stress balls relieve tension and are extremely popular in corporate settings.
The foam version of stress balls is created by injecting the liquid components of the foam into a mold. This results in a chemical reaction that creates bubbles of carbon dioxide which then turn into foam. Other types of hand exercise balls used in physical therapy have gels of different densities within a skin made of cloth or rubber. It is also possible to create a simple hand exercise ball by filling a balloon with baking soda.
The actual shape of the stress balls differs. Several corporations adorn their company logo on unusually shaped hand exercise balls and distribute them to their employees as giveaways. Stress balls are particularly popular in work settings where repetitive stress injuries are common.
Chinese hand exercise balls, also known as Baoding balls, originated from the city of the same name in China. Originally they were made of iron. Two or more of them are used by repeatedly rotating them around the hand. They are designed to improve hand strength as well as increase manual dexterity.
Modern Baoding balls consist of hollow spheres with a small ball inside a larger one. There is also a bell between the inside and outside ball that rings when the inside ball hits it. There are Baoding balls that have decorations such as brass wire on the surface, but they are not recommended for practical use. This is because damage can occur if two Baoding balls come into contact with each other, which is unavoidable when using them for exercise by beginners. The best Chinese hand exercise balls are hollow but made of iron because they require more effort to spin.
During the exercise, the balls must be rotated continuously and come into constant contact with each other. Once this is mastered, you need to quickly rotate them so that the balls never touch each other. 45mm balls should be used by beginners who should then slowly work their way up to the 60mm variety.
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