By Loretta Lanphier
Daily exercise using a rebounder can provide many health benefits with one of the most important being lymphatic drainage. Rebounding is easy on your joints, provides exercise that affects every part of the body, is easy to do and the cost is minimal. Best of all – it’s fun and energizing.
Your Lymphatic System
Your body contains about five to six quarts of blood with the heart acting as a pump to keep the blood circulating. However, the lymphatic system is twice the size of our other circulatory system. Twice as much lymph as blood is present in our bodies, and we have twice as many lymph vessels as blood vessels. Amazingly, the lymphatic system has no central pump, but depends on muscle contraction and manual manipulation to move fluid. If the movement of the lymph stopped entirely, you would die in a matter of hours.
Your lymphatic system is like a metabolic dumpster for the body. Your 75 trillion cells are constantly casting off toxins and a wide variety of waste products. All that unwanted debris goes directly into the lymph system; but remember there is no pump as with the cardiovascular system, which is the main reason why daily exercise/movement is important to keeping the body healthy.
When the lymphatic becomes sluggish, the consequences can be very serious. When the lymph system gets sluggish (due to illness, surgery, toxic overload or lack of activity), lymph fluid begins to back up. The results can be swelling, joint pain, nausea and fatigue. Stagnant lymph may be stored in lymph nodes for a long period of time but eventually becomes too toxic for the body to handle well. A sluggish lymphatic system not only affects the building, repair and waste disposal systems, but the body’s defenses against foreign substances are also impaired. In addition to filtering out toxic materials, the lymph nodes also produce substances that fight off invading viruses and bacteria and destroy abnormal cells that develop within the body, such as cancer cells. In addition to being part of the body’s plumbing and repair system, the lymphatics are an essential part of our immune system.
Since lymph cleanses almost every cell in your body, symptoms of chronic lymph blockage are many and can include the following: heightened allergies and food sensitivities, frequent cold and flu, joint pain, headaches and migraines, menstrual cramps, arthritis, fibrocystic breasts, breast tenderness, sinusitis, loss of appetite, intestinal issues, digestive issues, muscle cramps, tissue swelling, fatigue, mental fuzziness, mood irregularities, depression, parasites, skin breakouts, acne, and cellulite. Overall, one may feel tired as well as experiencing heaviness in the abdomen.
The Importance of Keeping the Lymphatic System Moving
The four best things that get the lymph flowing: (1) Gravitational Pressure, (2) Internal massage to the valves of lymph ducts, (3) Muscular contraction from movement and exercise and (4) deep breathing exercises.
Rebounding is reported to increase lymph flow by 15 to 30 times. And an added benefit is that bones become stronger with exercise. The motion that rebounding provides stimulates all internal organs, moves the cerebral-spinal fluid and the aqueous fluid within the eyes and does wonders for the digestive tract where at least 70% of your immune system resides.
When people don’t move (exercise), they are setting their lymphatic system up for concerns which, in turn, will eventually have huge effects on health and wellness.
According to James White, Ph.D., director of research and rehabilitation in the physical education department at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD: “Rebounding allows the muscles to go through the full range of motion at equal force. It helps people learn to shift their weight properly and to be aware of body positions and balance. When you jump, jog, and twist on this [jumping] device, you can exercise for hours without getting tired. It’s great practice for skiing, it improves your tennis stroke, and it’s a good way to burn off calories and lose weight.”
Rebounding is also an excellent exercise for senior citizens, those physically handicapped, those who are recuperating from an accident or injury, or anyone else who needs exercise but is hampered by a preexisting physical condition.
“The minitrampoline [rebounder] provides a convenient form of exercise with a major advantage being its apparent low level of trauma to the musculoskeletal system.”
–Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation
“The findings indicate that exercise on a miniature trampoline may provide a safe, adequate indoor exercise for normal and many cardiac patients of varied ages…”
–Journal of Medical Science for Sport and Exercise
“… the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a trampoline than with running, a finding that might help identify acceleration parameter needed for the design of remedial procedures to avert deconditioning in persons exposed to weightlessness.”
–N.A.S.A. report, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology
“Rebounding strengthens every organ in the body. Please take the time to pursue this life-enhancing form of exercise.”
– Anthony Robbins
Rebounding – Personal Experience
I was first introduced to rebounding when I was healing from stage 3 colon cancer. Because I had gone through a couple of surgeries as well as one month of horrific chemo, I was weak. However, I needed something for exercise that was easy on the body and effective. I bought a rebounder and started out very slowly. Every day I would rebound for 3.5 minutes in the morning and 3.5 minutes in the evening. All I did was bounce gently and my feet never left the rebounder. I never did any running, fancy tricks or other contortions. After several months, I had built my time up to 30 minutes and then went on to build up to one hour every day. By the way, for those who may have balance concerns, a railing to hook on the rebounder can be purchased to hold on while rebounding.
More good news is that rebounders can be purchased at Walmart and similar stores for about $35 – $45. I actually paid $25 for mine, but that was 14 years ago. To this very day, it still works fine. Certainly the more expensive ones are nice, but don’t let marketing make you believe that you must have the top of the line to begin rebounding or to experience success. The most important thing is to begin.
Because rebounding is such an effective exercise, it can reduce body fat; firm arms, legs, thighs, abdomen, and hips; increases your agility; strengthens your muscles overall; provides an aerobic effect for your cardiopulmonary systems; rejuvenates your body when it’s tired, and generally puts you in a state of mental and physical wellness.
