I'm Still Bouncing! Rebounder Update & ALS Exercise Tips

Here’s exciting news - - I’m still bouncing!

So? You ask, what’s all the fuss?

Well, let’s begin with the fact that I have ALS, and I am embarking on my 15th year of living with the condition (Note: the average prediction for survival with ALS is only 2-5 years following diagnosis). I attribute a large part of having reached this milestone to following basic wellness lifestyle principles. One of which is - - daily moderate exercise.

In 2015, I wrote ("Why I Bounce") about how an important part of my daily exercise is using a rebounder - - one that had been originally designed by my father George Nissen, inventor of the modern trampoline. I also shared that when I began bouncing again post-ALS, my feet had completely forgotten how, and I had to learn to bounce all over again.  Soggy-walking slowly transitioned into soggy-bouncing. I challenged myself to complete just 50 bounces, then to keep going through a whole song and finally build up to a daily 20-minute workout.

And now one year later, thanks to the wonderful folks at Active Fun and X-L-Ent Care Products, Inc., I’m bouncing on a new, up-graded model of my father’s original design. This new unit is called a Health Bounce Pod® or simply a B Pod® (as in, Bounce Pod).

NOTE: Unfortunately this unit is no longer available in the U.S. - - It is available and being used in senior living facilities in Japan.

You’ll notice right away that the design is very unique. It’s made for people who want to enjoy the benefits of rebounding but need a super-strong, rugged, stable, supportive apparatus that - - can even look nice in a home setting.  

The side arches and center C-hoop are what make the B Pod® fun, safe, and easy to use. The C-hoop is at the right height and position to use as a handgrip, it moves with the bouncer and is convenient as well as firm enough to lean against during brief rest periods.

The B Pod® arrives in a flat box and is pre-assembled - - except for having to slide the leg bars on, unfold the arches, and attach the center C-hoop - - all easily managed. Although the arches can be folded back down between uses I highly suggest leaving everything up and intact. If it’s ready to go, you’ll be more likely to use it! If you do need to move the unit, the leg bar design allows for an easy slide across the carpet or similar surface. 

Remember, the Health Bounce Pod®/B-Pod® is not for trampoline skills or super-high bounces, it is for fundamental rebound therapy, which includes: gentle cardio, muscle tone, kinesthetic awareness, balance training, movement coordination, and mood enhancement.

Having ALS leads to a lack of daily physical movement and most of the day is spent sitting, which fast-forwards our body to that of the typical elderly person. Inactivity and sitting reduce vestibular stimulation; which means our inner ears lose the ability to communicate with our brain in order to regulate our body’s equilibrium or balance. Having poor balance leads to falls.

In 2011, researchers in Germany studied the effects of rebounding as an intervention to help the elderly reduce their risk of falling. Following a 14-week period of exercising on a rebounder, participants increased their foot planter flexion muscle strength by an average of 10% and demonstrated the increased ability to regain balance during a forward fall by an average of 35%. The researchers concluded that “the improvement was attributed to the higher rate of hip movement generation.” http://www.jelectromyographykinesiology.com/article/S1050-6411(11)00006-X/fulltext

I know I’m happy with the benefits I’ve experienced from following my program of regular daily rebounding and I look forward to even more gains using my new Health Bounce Pod®/B Pod®. 

In fact, I can boast that I’m now able to hop from foot to foot! YAY! 

Take a look at my video:

Having trouble viewing the video? 

Use this link: https://youtu.be/YJFPYP62ds4

And yes, to prove that the Health Bounce Pod®/B Pod® is based on my father’s original design, is manufactured following strict requirements, using high grade material: each unit comes with its own engraved authentication number - - Just like an original Nissen trampoline! 

Update 2025:

The Health Bounce Pod®/B Pod® is now only available in Japan.

READ:

"Why I Bounce"

------------------------------------

Dagmar Munn
ALS and Wellness Blogger

"Exercise is medicine!"

Becky Farley, PhD, MS, PT

Email recipients: use this link to read this blog online.

Why I Bounce - 2015 (ALS Exercise Tips)

1. I bounce because I have ALS.

2. I bounce because aerobic exercise is beneficial for people with ALS.

3. I bounce because my Dad made it possible.

Let me explain…

Did you know that billions of neurons are required just to lift one foot off the floor?

At the very moment you even consider this action motor neurons in your brain have already sent the message to motor neurons in your spinal cord, who relay it on to specific neurons deep in the muscles of your leg and foot, and - - your foot lifts up.  Incredibly this happens without much mental effort on your part. All day and every day, you depend on and take for granted this smooth coordination between billions of motor neurons and their associated muscle groups.

ALS causes motor neurons to slowly deteriorate. So when I think, “Pick up my right foot,” the messages sent down the line are garbled and often no message is sent at all. Unless I apply constant focused mental effort my right foot drags with each step I take.

Medical experts still don’t know what causes motor neurons to deteriorate. It’s frustrating because our bodies can’t regenerate or grow new ones.  However, good news is emerging. A growing number of research studies suggest that moderate aerobic exercise not only helps keep neurons plugged into muscles but helps to protect them from deterioration as well.[1] In addition, aerobic exercise boosts energy, removes damaged proteins and reduces neural inflammation. [2]

When I came across the statement, “There is no evidence that exercise is harmful to people with ALS,” made by Oxford University neurologist Martin Turner, MA PhD MRCP, I felt both relief and hope.

Throughout my career teaching wellness, I've been an advocate for aerobic exercise. In the 1980s, I had the opportunity to attend a training-certification program at the Aerobics Institute, Dallas, Texas, under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Cooper - - the very man who coined the term “aerobics!” It was an inspiring program and although we learned the scientific definition of what qualifies an exercise as aerobic, I always used an easier-to-understand version in my wellness classes:

“Make sure you’re huffing and puffing, your large muscle groups are working, you’re moving for at least 10-15 minutes, and - - at a pace where you can still carry on a conversation.”

Many options for PALS (People with ALS)

During the first few years following my diagnosis, I experimented with the variety of exercise equipment available in the workout room at our local recreation center: I pedaled the stationary bikes, pushed the recumbent steppers and pulled on the rowing machines. I even sloshed around in the pool outside; with water exercises and shallow water walking. Even though I favored one or two over the others I found all to be safe, easy and excellent aerobic exercise options for someone like me who has ALS.

                                                      

But I wanted to BOUNCE!

You see, I was hard-wired to bounce. My father George Nissen, invented the modern trampoline and I grew up bouncing on trampolines!

"The Nissens" trampoline act - 1955

Throughout his life my father continued to invent, and during the last years of his life he designed a small rebound jogger with a unique safety hoop that encircled the bouncer. I even spent several years helping him promote his unique rebounder - - we found an appreciative market with the visually impaired, the physically handicapped and even aging baby-boomers.

George Nissen and Dagmar - 2009

My father passed away prior to my diagnosis, but I’m sure he’d be proud that his rebounder has been of exceptional benefit to me now that I live with ALS.

At first, I could only ‘soggy-jog’ about fifty steps every other day. But pretty soon I bounced through a whole song on the radio, and now with the help of peppy rock-n-roll music nearby I use the rebounder at least twenty-minutes a day.

I think of him every time I bounce!

Today, in honor of his birthday – I dedicate this video to my father, George Nissen.

Thanks, Dad!

Updated 2021: 

For anyone interested, the Health Bounce Pod®/B Pod® is now available from Energy Surfaces Inc., and the web site is: www.rebound4health.com.

Update 2025

The Health Bounce Pod®/B Pod® is now only available in Japan.

READ "I'm Still Bouncing" 

Resources:

---

[1] Exercise: Stretching the Limits of ALS Care. http://blogs.als.net/post/2012/03/28/Exercise-does-a-body-good-But-what-about-pALS.aspx

[2]  AAN 2014: ALS, Handle with Care  http://blogs.als.net/?tag=/exercise