Movement of the Week: Physio Ball Dead Bug

Rebuild Phase

You've noticed something shifting.

The sharp, grabbing pain that stopped you in your tracks a few weeks ago—it's faded. You're moving more freely. But there's still this... hesitation. A bracing that happens before you bend. A subtle holding pattern you can't quite shake.

You're not imagining it.

This is what the early Rebuild phase often feels like. The alarm system that was blaring during the acute phase has quieted, but it hasn't fully recalibrated. Your body moved through pain for weeks, and now—even though the coast is clearer—it's still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

What you're experiencing isn't fragility. It's a nervous system that hasn't yet received enough evidence that movement is safe again—and a core that's lost some of its capacity to stabilize under load.

This is the stage where we start to rebuild both.

The goal here is twofold: strengthen the muscles that create stability around your spine, and re-teach your brain and body that controlled movement through the core is okay. These aren't separate projects. When your deep core muscles get stronger and your intra-abdominal pressure system starts working efficiently again, your nervous system receives exactly the feedback it needs to trust movement.

The physio ball dead bug is one of my favorite tools for this.

Why This Movement, Why Now

The dead bug pattern—lying on your back, moving opposite arm and leg while the trunk stays stable—is a fundamental motor pattern. It's how your body learns to resist rotation and extension while your limbs are in motion. And it's an excellent way to train the deep stabilizers of the spine while building the capacity to generate and maintain intra-abdominal pressure.

Adding the physio ball does something important: it gives your system feedback. Your hands press into the ball, your core has to engage to maintain that pressure, and your brain receives a clear signal that says stable. The ball isn't making the exercise harder for the sake of difficulty—it's creating a demand that teaches your body how to brace effectively while moving.

When this goes well, you'll notice something subtle: the movement starts to feel automatic and less effortful. Your core fires without you having to think about it. That's two things happening at once: muscles getting stronger and more coordinated, and a nervous system updating its predictions, learning that this position, this motion, is safe.

A Note on Readiness

This movement looks different for everyone.

For some, a physio ball dead bug would be way too easy at this point and they're ready for more load.

For others, the idea of lying on the ground this early would trigger anxiety, if that's you, that's useful information. We don't push through that, we work around it. Possibly starting with standing core work, or a simple bird-dog, until lying on the floor feels like a non-event.

The goal is always to find the version that your system can succeed at without a flare-up. Not because you're fragile, but because success is what builds strength and updates the brain.

Returning to It Later

Here's something you'll notice as you progress through care: once full function has returned, we often revisit movements like this one, not as rehab, but as a warm-up.

On days when your back seems "off"—maybe you slept poorly, or stress is high—this movement, alongside some cat-cows and leg wags, can be a quick way to wake up the stabilizers and tell your nervous system: we've been here before. We're fine.

What starts as early Rebuild becomes, eventually, part of your Return-phase toolkit.

The Movement

Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat. Hold a physio ball between your hands and the front of your thighs—arms extended, pressing gently into the ball.

Slowly extend one leg toward the floor while maintaining pressure on the ball. The challenge is keeping the ball still and your low back from arching—that's your core doing its job. Return. Repeat on the other side.

If the ball is wobbling or your back is lifting off the floor, you've lost the position. Slow down, reset, and try again. Quality matters more than reps here.

This is what Rebuild looks like: strengthening what's weakened, restoring the pressure system that protects your spine, and teaching your body it can trust itself again.