A fitness ball is a ball specifically developed for exercise. This PVC ball is meant  specifically for use in exercises designed and set by medical practitioners and in therapy that involves light physical types of exercise. A typical fitness ball is approximately 35 to 85 cm and is also referred to as a birth ball, body ball, gym ball, or physioball. There are many more names for it in different cultures and communities.

This ball is larger and lighter than a regular medicine ball. The ball for exercising was developed by a plastics manufacturer called Aquilino Cosani, in 1963. This Italian plastics manufacturer had in time, perfected the manufacture of larger and puncture resistant balls made from plastic and he called the then manufactured balls ‘Pezzi balls’. The earliest ball for exercising were used in treatment programs designed by the medical fraternity for newborns in Switzerland and later in Basel at a number of Physical Therapy Schools. The popularity and effectiveness of the ball for exercising soon influenced its use in neuro-developmental treatment and within the application of functional kinetics. Today, the fitness ball for exercising is being used to treat adults with a number of orthopedic problems. The use of the ball is usually part of a physical therapy program that is executed within a clinical setting. The fitness ball for exercising is also being used in athletic training and yoga.

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