Vestibular Lunges: Two Situations to Add to Your Training

The vestibular system is a sensory system located in the inner ear that is responsible for detecting head movements. This system is crucial for athletes as it allows them to maintain balance during rapid movements and changes in direction.

Athletes who engage in sports that require precise coordination and quick movements, such as tennis, soccer, basketball, etc., heavily rely on their vestibular system.

Specific training exercises can be used to strengthen/calibrate the vestibular system and improve balance, coordination, and athletic performance.

Do you have the means to test and specifically target the needs of the athlete in front of you?1) in relation to their sport?2) in relation to their individual needs?

Do you have the tools for targeted progression on the vestibular system? Not just random exercises, right?!

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First "Vestibular" Lunge Situation

Have you seen the chart on the wall? In reality, you can simply put a sticky note with a cross on it; it works just fine.This is a really basic situation for working around the vestibular system. We incorporate it into warm-ups whenever we talk about a sport that involves a lot of changes in direction, acceleration, or jumping.What’s also interesting are the insights we gain from head positions where you struggle to remain stable during the lunge reception and/or where you lose your visual target.Just imagine you are on the field running/changing direction, and your head moves in the direction where you lose balance on your lunge, or you are less stable during reception… will you perform as well as you wish?

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Second "Vestibular" Lunge Situation

Following the same idea as the first situation with head rotation directions in relation to the chart on the wall, we perform torso rotations while keeping the target (here a finger) in sight. 

What’s also interesting are the insights we gain from head acceleration directions where you find it harder to be stable and where you lose balance more easily.Just imagine you are on the field running/changing direction, and your head moves in the direction where you lose balance on your lunge… will you perform as well as you wish?

In this last exercise, do you know which vestibular skill is particularly being worked on here and which vestibular nucleus it relates to?

In which part of the brainstem is this nucleus located, and based on its placement, what connection does it have with other autonomic functions?I look forward to hearing from you to discuss this further.