Plasma – red blood cells – flows out of blood vessels and into body tissues providing oxygen and nutrients. A system of tubes throughout the body, known as the lymph system, continuously drains the tissues of the resulting colourless fluid called lymph. (This is probably why the lymph system is known by some as the “metabolic garbage process”.) Lymph, the fluid, contains a high proportion of white blood cells (called lymphocytes) and is eventually returned to the bloodstream through vessels at the base of the neck.
There are various lymph nodes (often referred to as glands) or junctions, in your armpits, in your groin and neck, and others in your pelvis abdomen and chest. With the help of white blood cells, these nodes act as filters of lymph, catching and eliminating toxins, wastes, bacteria, viruses, and other impurities. The spleen is also part of the lymph system and performs the same as a lymph node; it also filters the used red blood cells and replaces them with new cells from the bone marrow.
Other members of the lymph system team are the tonsils and adenoids, which protect the entrances to the digestive system and lungs, and the thymus, or thymus gland, which is active in childhood, and improves the power of infection-fighting cells emerging from the bone marrow. It shrinks in adulthood.
So the lymph system filters and reticulates our fluids, and in doing so plays a key role in our immune system and thus our day-to-day health.
We have, depending on our size, between one and two and a half litres of lymph fluid. Its natural flow becomes more sluggish as we age.
Inadequate lymph flow is associated with many illnesses and conditions, including joint stiffness and bursitis, lethargy, skin problems and cancer. Exercise, and particularly rebounding, because of its intensive but gentle gravitational effect - can increase the rate of lymph flow by up to 15 times! This stimulation means its flushing and cleansing effect is massively improved. Few other forms of exercise do it as well. Infection is more easily fought and eliminated, new blood flow is improved, and the individual feels generally better.
With rebounding you achieve a weightless state at the top of the bounce, then land with twice the force of gravity – giving healthy strengthening movement to every cell in the body, yet subjecting your lower-extremity joints to minimal stress. US researchers, working with the North American Space Administration (NASA) found in fact that “the magnitude of the …stimuli is greater jumping on a trampoline than with running”. They showed that in an hour a runner would burn considerably fewer calories than someone on a rebounder. And at the same time the poor feet, ankle and shin bones, and related tendons are not shrieking at all that stress!
As with all aerobic exercise, rebounding can help lower elevated blood pressure, dissolve blood clots, and increase the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the “good” cholesterol) in the blood.
Exercise slows down the effects of aging. People “rust away before they wear out” because they fail to realise that the human body was meant to be used for as long as a person lives.
Our legs contain our biggest muscle groups, and getting them pumping is an effective way of driving circulation and priming our systems.
Rebounding helps bones maintain their density and mineral content; it helps muscles maintain their power; joints their flexibility.
Rebounding stimulates the brain and visual cortex, aiding balance and agility. As we age, maintaining balance is an important part of fitness and personal confidence, especially faced with an increased risk of falls.
“A patient with an inner-ear problem is trained to rely solely on input from their eyes and muscles in retaining balance. As part of the training they wear sunglasses to alter visual input and stand on a trampoline to alter input from leg muscles.”
