Last Updated on October 5, 2023
Many exercise tools have evolved over time for better health and fitness. The rebounder is one of them used as all-around exercise equipment for home exercise. It provides many health benefits including physical as well as mental. Through rebounding, you can relieve your stress and even boost your confidence level. With such abundant benefits of rebounding, there are some drawbacks too like other fitness tools.
You may wonder whether rebounding is bad for you or not. Well, you might experience some negative side effects of rebounding if you are in certain bad health conditions such as pinched sciatic nerves, degenerative disc diseases, osteoporosis, etc. In this condition, you shouldn’t step on a rebounder. Here we’re explaining several common bad sides of rebounder exercise.
Different Negative Side Effects of Rebounding
Before digging deep into the side effects of rebounding, let’s have a look at the body parts’ names or physiological conditions that are analyzed checking the dangers of mini trampoline or rebounding:
- Ankles
- Knees
- Back
- Scoliosis
- Pelvic floor
- Degenerative disc disease
- Varicose veins
- Hypertension
- Back muscle imbalance
- Bladder
- Prolapse
- Nerve damage
Now, let’s discuss these points in detail.
Table of Contents
1. Is Rebounding Bad for Ankles?
Trampoline jumping is a lower-impact exercise than running or rope skipping. The reason behind this is rebounder’s mat is softer compared to concrete or other hard surfaces. So, the rebounder is quite safe for ankles. But this is not always ideal.
A study by the University of Michigan has found that overdoing any exercise might cause serious discomfort and health injury. The same thing also happens for rebounding. If you exercise too long or jump from very high, it could cause joint pain.
The wrong landing also leads to ankle strain. For the older person, the effect might be serious. If you are suffering from any type of ankle joint pain, take rests until you get well completely.
2. Is Rebounding Bad for Knees?
A rebounder is not bad for knees all the time. But it might hurt your knees in several situations-
The mat quality of the rebounder plays a vital role there. Usually, the mat’s quality depends on the rebounder’s price. This is a major factor that defines whether the mini-trampolines create any adverse effects on the knees or not.
The cheap price mini-trampolines mat isn’t sturdily made thus they might stretch and misalign easily after several days. If you jump on such mats, it may hurt the knees, ankles, and lower parts of the legs according to the American Journal of Sports.
Another reason is the posture while you are jumping especially landing. It’s necessary to bend your knees while you are landing. The pad might be soft still it’ll exert some pressure on your knees. If you keep the knees straight while landing it will be dangerous for your knees even you may experience you are landing on concrete.
3. Is Rebounding Bad for Your Back?
In general, rebounders don’t create any side effects if your back is in good health. But, people with pinched nerves, sciatica, or osteoporosis, should be away from the rebounder.
According to a 2007 study by therapist Pam Williams, some people with spine conditions claim that their back pain increases after rebounding.
So, if you are diagnosed with any of the above back pain (which may occur due to trampolining), consult with a doctor first to be sure what you should do now.
While you rebound, the spinal tissues are stretched and compressed simultaneously. This may create extra pressure on the discs. The tissues in that locations can’t endure such heavy impact and can be severely affected.
You might know, discs are situated between the vertebra in the spine. Thus, the soft tissue surrounding the discs can be inflamed. So in this health condition, it’s not wise to go for rebounding.
4. Is Rebounding Bad for Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is a major deformity that makes curvatures to the spine. Usually, this deformation develops with age.
But if you are in its early stage, it can be cured by maintaining some health tips. There are mixed opinions on whether rebounding is bad for scoliosis or not.
Some experts of the National Scoliosis Treatment say rebounding might be dangerous for scoliosis but another group advises to continue following some basic tips.
So, it is very difficult to say in one sentence whether rebounding for scoliosis is bad or not. But the fact is really depended on the degree of deformation, age, overall health condition, and a few more things.
5. Is Rebounding Bad for the Pelvic Floor?
Before we go through how rebounding impacts negatively the pelvic floor, let’s explain the functions of the pelvic floor first. The pelvic floor plays an important role both for males and females.
But the pelvic floor is the most important part of the female anatomy. Women have larger pelvic cavities than men. This provides control over the bowel, bladder, and uterus (for women).
The University of Florida has found in a 2016 study that pelvic floor injury might cause by several reasons for women such as weight, the strength of the pelvic floor, constipation, childbirth history, etc.
If you have a weak pelvic floor, you should avoid staining while rebounding. But you can also modify the exercise routine to minimize the impact.
It’s very important to land on one foot. If you land on both feet, there is a high chance of occurring pelvic floor problems.
Research shows female trampolinists have a higher risk of such issues due to heavy-impact exercises. So, female trampoline users should avoid heavy-impact workouts. Also, shorten the session duration.
6. Is Rebounding Bad for Degenerative Disc Disease?
People with degenerative disc disease should avoid trampolines to prevent further degradation. Intervertebral discs absorb shocks. But when these get damaged, they couldn’t bear impact while you jump or rebound. And it may lead to serious spine injury even paralyzed. So, don’t rebound in this condition.
7. Is Rebounding Bad for Varicose Veins?
It is well-known that trampoline stimulates circulation. Regular trampolining or any other exercise is good for circulation. So, it is very difficult to believe that rebounding might be bad for varicose veins.
But rebounding might adversely impact varicose veins in some cases. Workout intensity says whether it is good or bad.
Intense workouts can make them swell but soft rebounds can’t do so. Some research shows that increased muscle tone causes unhealthy veins. So, adjust your rebounding routine according to your body.
8. Is Rebounding Bad for Hypertension?
Physical exercises significantly reduce blood pressure hence hypertension. Trampolining is a good exercise thus it can increase your heart rate.
This might be a great way to stop blood clots. But, rebounding is not always good especially if you are diagnosed with hypertension. As rebounding affects our circulation thus it may be dangerous for people with hypertension.
Rebounding is not risk-free for people with lower blood pressure. But it is the risk that is more concerning for high blood pressure people as when we exercise blood pressure rises a lot.
9. Is Rebounding Bad for Back Muscle Imbalances?
In any part of your body muscle imbalance can happen. Wrong posture and repetitive movements of body parts are the two main reasons behind this.
If you have such inconsistency, it’s recommended not the right time to rebound. Trampolining can cause sudden impacts on the damaged tissues that might be dangerous for you.
10. Is Rebounding Bad For Your Bladder?
After giving birth many women suffer from urinary inconsistency. It happens due to losing control over urination. And the situation gets worsened when women, even pregnant ones, do workouts such as jumping or running. This happens while anyone rebounds.
Repetitive bounce increases bladder movement. This pressure causes leakage of the urine. But the pelvic floor protects against further leakage. However, with jumping, pelvic floor pressure also increases gradually.
In general, rebounding doesn’t create any negative effect on the bladder. But it might be dangerous for those who’re suffering from urinary tract problems.
So, experts recommend not to rebound in a full bladder. Moreover, workout intensity is also important. Start with small intensity and increase slowly.
11. Is Rebounding Bad for Prolapse?
The up-and-down rebounding force affects our pelvic floor greatly. And furthermore, it affects our pelvic organ prolapse. That could be a great threat to normal life.
So, those who are suffering from prolapse, shouldn’t come bouncing on the trampoline or other high-impact exercise? Even a chronic cough can worsen prolapse.
Thus experts suggest not doing anything that causes strain pelvic floor or at least modifying these. If you have such a problem follow your doctor’s recommendations. He/she can advise more precisely what you should do now.
12. Is Rebounding Bad for Nerve Damages?
People suffering from pinched nerves should be away from the trampoline. At least, they should take rest until they get recovered.
According to the American Neurology Association, severe nerve damage might require surgery, so don’t overlook it. Sciatic nerve damage is another severe injury. If you’re suffering from this, you can move rather than complete rest.
Walking works as a good pain reliever here. But an awkward movement like twisting, or rebounding is still dangerous here.
Study Data on the Effects of Rebounding
Below data was found from the study on “How does trampoline or hard surface jumping influence lower extremity alignment”. From the study, we can observe that jumping on a trampoline is more effective than on a hard surface or ground. For details, you can check here.
Final Thoughts
Although there are some negative effects of rebounding still the positive sides will exceed the negatives undoubtedly. But you can eliminate such negative impacts by avoiding rebounding when any of the above-mentioned inconsistencies happen to you.
Here we just point out the risks of rebounding so you can avoid such injuries. We’re not discoursing you to use rebounders. The rebounder is definitely one of the best fitness tools nowadays to burn lots of calories. Just avoid it when you are not physically fit.
Some good rebounding suggestions from us:
A short video on why you should start rebounding:
[wpsm_video]https://youtu.be/nT29K0uSxNc[/wpsm_video]
Adam is not just a dad; he’s an adventure-seeking, outdoor-loving parent. When he’s not working, you’ll find him outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and bonding with his kids through sports and play.
Adam’s family-focused articles bring a unique perspective to trampoline jumping, emphasizing the importance of quality time and physical activity for children and adults alike.