Rebounding (The Exercise)

[Libby]

Rebounding (aka jumping on a trampoline) has interested me for a while. It's got a pretty sizable following of people who claim everything from that it helps improve circulation to that it can help cure cancer.

I buy into the ideas about lymphatic fluid movement, and I can see how that would be beneficial for many conditions. Plus, it's really fun.

The good rebounders (low impact, don't turn your ankles in, last a long time) are annoyingly expensive, so I waited until Black Friday (half off!). It arrived yesterday and I've been hopping on it for a few minutes every hour or two. My heart rate goes up a bit, but not enough to make me sick. I feel it doing...something lol. My legs are sort of tingling right now. Not in a bad way, or a painful pooling way. But it's noticeable.

I think it would be possible for this type of exercise to help with pooling, in a number of ways. That's what I'm hoping for, at least. I dread walking on the days that I'm severely pooling. It just feels like all my blood vessels are a minute away from popping. If I can do something for it without using meds or compression stockings (make me cramp), I'm definitely in.

Has anyone else tried rebounding?

[gjensen]

I would feel it doing something to. LOL. Whether or not I liked what I felt would be my question. LOL.

I haven't tried it, but it sounds like a fun exercise if it is tolerated well.

[Nymph]

It sounds like fun! I loved trampolines but haven't used one in a long time. I would totally try it!

[dkd]

I used to have a mini trampoline and then I had neck issues and my physical therapist told me it would be bad for my neck/spine, so I got rid of it.

Also, I have read that walking also helps move the lymphatic fluid, so I'm not sure if I buy the hype of the rebounder being especially good for that. (I'm a skeptic in general-haha)

I did feel like my legs got fairly toned up using it. Have fun with it!!

[Libby]

Every movement you make moves lymphatic fluid . Because the lymphatic system lacks a pump (i.e. the heart, like in the circulatory system), it depends on gravity/muscle movements to squeeze the lymph along. It's just a matter of how much it moves it with the movement you're doing.

Rebounding proponents cite a study done by NASA which extolls the virtues of rebounding. NASA wanted an exercise that rebuilt muscle mass and bone density quickly, because astronauts lose both like crazy when they're in zero gravity. It's not the end-all, be-all study that a lot of these people claim it to be, but it does support rebounding as a much more energy efficient way of exercising and building muscle mass than running is. It's also much better for your joints, as the impact force is spread out over your entire body as opposed to concentrating on your ankles, knees, hips and spine. (this is provided that you have a good trampoline, and don't have injuries contraindicating use). And it strengthens bones quickly.

But that's just one study. And there wasn't anything about lymph movement in there. I've found some anecdotal evidence - one woman wrote a review about a rebounder, saying she had a thermal image of her breast taken (in place of a traditional mammogram) and had a few areas light up (cancer = increase in cell division = increase in heat) as spots to watch. She started rebounding to try to basically prevent it from progressing to cancer, and the next year she claims the same test showed 100% normal heat distribution. But who knows what actually caused that.

Anyway. I wanted to say that I have some anecdotal evidence of my own. I've only been using the rebounder for about 5 days, and this really could just be coincidence. Maybe I'm having a good day. But I took a shower this morning and I glanced down at my feet. Instead of their normal deep red/borderline purple color, as always happens in the shower, they were a bright red/pink. They looked much less alarming than they usually do. Placebo effect or not, it's encouraging.