Rebounders or mini -trampolines provide an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of ' bouncer-cise'. People who bounce for as little as 15 minutes daily experience significant improvement in their health. Bouncercise can be performed quite safely while holding on to a stabilising overhead resistance system. This configuration facilitates the development of total body fitness and strength.

Rebounders have other safety devices to make them fun and easy to use by people of all ages. Your feet don't have to leave the mat while bouncing and if they do, you don't have to bounce high to enjoy the benefits of the activity.

Rebounders absorb the impact of the movement of the body. This results in a low-impact activity which is very essential in the maintenance of the health and flexibility of our muscles and joints.

This activity has been practised by Olympic champions, persons who experience difficulty standing, and even persons who are confined to wheelchairs. Rebounders allow us to combine aerobic and strength-training exercises, which can result in weight loss three times as effective as jogging.

Great for arthritic pains

On rebounders we move the body up and down, activating many muscles that would have been inactive during conventional exercises. Those muscles eventually experience improved blood circulation and muscle fitness. The up and down movement of rebounding moves lymph more effectively and improves our immune system's ability to counteract the invasion of harmful organisms. It also speeds up the recovery of sore muscle.

Rebounders provide arthritis and osteoporosis sufferers with an excellent opportunity to enjoy a low- impact activity that will increase the circulation around the joints and improve the availability of oxygen. It improves the metabolism of nutrients and so enhances the maintenance of joints and reduces their deterioration.

Loosens tight muscles

Bouncing loosens tight and fatigued muscles, especially those of the neck, back and limbs. By stimulating the muscles, this activates muscles in people with osteoporosis to build bone mass and inevitably, bone density. By bouncing your body you are also better able to release the toxic wastes of metabolism as a result of improved mobility.

The improvement of cardiovascular health is a major benefit of most exercise programmes. Bouncercise also improves cardiovascular health. The increased internal and external movements of the body will also prevent problems of constipation and its associated side effects.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@ gleanerjm.com.