And as we’ll explain, water has a therapeutic way of refreshing your mind and reduces stress and anxiety. You will be invigorated and have a better sleep.

Physical activity is a piece of the puzzle that helps promote a healthy immune system. Diet and exercise are paramount in boosting your body’s immunity. While you can’t change your DNA, you can control how you fuel your body – with food and workouts.

For starters, water exercises provide a flexible environment for working out; you don’t have to worry about falling and hurting yourself in a pool. The water also reduces the impact exercises have on your joints and muscles.

So, slip on that swimsuit – no Speedos, please! – and let’s dip our toes into the pool to test the waters …

‘Find something called movement’

Cancer patients’ quality of life depends on a myriad of factors, including their overall health. Being physically active is a significant component of QoL. However, cancer patients and survivors often suffer from myofascial pain. This chronic and painful condition affects the connective tissue that covers the muscles.

There are many ways to be physically active, including rebounding, yoga, walking. If you suffer from myofascial pain syndrome, this may involve either a single muscle or a muscle group and not allow you to exert the energy to do those activities. [1]

During the 2017 Cancer Control Society annual meeting, biochemistry researcher Nick Delgado asked, “What is it you’re doing right now to prevent cancer?”

At the root of his question is the immune system – and physical activity plays a significant role.

“Our immune system is the key to being able to fight and overcome this very serious killer disease,” Delgado said. “I am also of the school that we follow a lifestyle that helps us to live healthier and better.

“I don’t believe it will ever be a world free of cancer completely. I think people always smoke. They’ll always abuse their body. They always want to eat meat,” says Delgado, who promotes a plant-based lifestyle.

For cancer patients who cannot put their bodies through running and jumping rigors, water aerobics may be beneficial for a healthier, more physically-active life.

“Start with walking, move up to jogging, move up to running,” Delgado said. “I have athletes. I have people who have not exercised a day in their life, who graduate to various forms [of exercise]; could be water exercise. You have to find something called movement. Move your body.”

The popularity of water exercises

A 2018 study aimed to establish exercise preferences among head and neck cancer survivors found that 33% of those queried were interested in water exercises. [2] Meanwhile, there is mounting scientific evidence that has shown physical exercise improves aerobic fitness, strength, physical activity levels, and quality of life.

Physical exercise, including water aerobics, reduces fatigue in cancer survivors, including breast cancer patients, during and post-treatment. Research also suggests other health benefits from physical activity during and post-cancer treatments. [3]

In 2012, 66 breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned into two groups: the Water group, who received a water exercise program, and the Control group, who received the usual care treatment for breast cancer. The research noted an 8-week water therapy program was useful for improving neck and shoulder/armpit pain and reducing the presence of trichorhinophalangeal (TRPS) in breast cancer survivors as compared with usual care.

TRPS is a gene that appears to help regulate healthy embryonic development and is found at high levels in virtually all forms of breast cancer. [4] Based on 2005 research, the TRPS-1 gene is associated with a rare, inherited genetic disease in which loss of the gene function results in muscle and bone deformities. [5] The gene is located in a region previously known to be associated with breast cancer and other oncogenes.

“Based on our findings, we believe that TRPS-1 is involved in the earliest stages of breast cancer,” says Laszlo Radvanyi, Ph.D., associate professor of breast and melanoma medical oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

TRPS-1 is a DNA-binding protein that regulates how other proteins get produced. It also appears to be involved in recognition of steroids such as estrogen. Radvanyi speculates that the protein may help regulate cell growth and perhaps estrogen recognition.

Benefits of water exercises

Exercise may be associated with increased health-related quality of life in patients with cancer. Still, it is not prescribed as standard care during or after cancer treatment. A systematic review of methodological quality from 16 randomized controlled trials summarized the evidence.

The review determined that exercise has a direct positive impact on patients’ quality of life with cancer, during, and following medical intervention. The types of cancer studied included mixed, breast, lymphoma, colo-rectal, prostate, and lung cancer. The authors also noted exercise is a “clinically relevant treatment and should be an adjunct to disease therapy in oncology.” [6]

Furthermore, another study of 72 randomized controlled trials – 71 in adults and 1 in children – determined exercise had a moderate effect on reducing fatigue compared with a control intervention. Exercise also improved depression and sleep. [7]

In 2018, a study was launched to investigate whether patients who suffer from lower limb lymphedema after cancer treatments can benefit from water immersion exercise training to improve functional capacity, quality of life, and help control/diminish limb volume.

Aquatic exercise training programs allow moderate and vigorous-intensity activities for patients with lower limb lymphedema, increasing functional capacity and quality of life. Thus, immersion exercise does not appear to exacerbate lower limb lymphedema. [8]

“If you transition to a healthy lifestyle, you may not need the medications in short order. Your quality of life will improve dramatically,” Delgado said. “We know that exercise is important. We know that your emotional status is important. We know that better sleep is important.

“I can tell you this: If you suffer from allergies, cancer, infection, or inflammation, your white blood cells are the key to your total health and immune system.” (White blood cells are immune system cells that help protect against infectious diseases.) [9-10]

Types of water aerobics

Water aerobics place very little weight on the joints, which means people of all ages and varying levels of fitness can reap the exercises’ benefits. Water places an upward force on a person – buoyancy – and you can experience as much as 90% less weight when in the water. This makes water exercises an ideal activity for a low-impact water workout.

Aqua jogging is a low-impact exercise to get the heart pumping and blood flowing throughout the body. As simple as jogging through the water from one side of the pool to the other, aqua jogging also can be as simple as walking back and forth in the pool or marching in place in the pool.

Capitalizing on the resistance of the water, leg lifts work all of the muscles in your legs. Merely stand in the pool and lift one leg out to the side and back down. Repeat until your leg feels tired, then switch legs. This exercise also improves balance and strengthens your core.

Water push-ups build strength in your arms, chest, and shoulders – and there is not a lot of pressure put on your joints. To do these push-ups, stand along the side of the pool and place your hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart on the edge of the pool. Bend your arms and lean in toward the wall, then push yourself back out. Repeat this exercise slowly and until your arms feel tired.

FAQs

The post The health benefits of water exercises for cancer patients appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

We are all too familiar with term life span which is the average length life or existence. The word has a relatively new frequent companion: health span. A person's health span is the length of time that the person is healthy—not just alive. A longer health span is our new aim. We prefer to lead full, healthy, happy quality lives as we meet our children and grandchildren. We can make a huge difference in our lives by staying fit and healthy.

Many attribute fitness as just not physical but also mental, social and emotional as well. Physical fitness prevents or may even treat chronic health conditions as well as alleviate mood or mental disorders, activating the endocrine system, influencing hormones to promote tissue growth and repair and regulate inflammatory conditions.

Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate to high-intensity exercise and enough rest. It is essential to know our target heart rate when we do exercise so as not to push our body outside of our limits that may cause fatigue. The general rule when starting a fitness journey is doing it gently, pace it right, make a long-term agreement to get fit. Overall, fitness makes us look fit and healthy.

Benefits of exercise:

• Controls blood pressure — moderate to high-intensity exercises has proven to help build a stronger heart, better blood vessels and has help control blood pressure. Athletes have a lower heart rate than usual (bradycardia) resulting from regular physical fitness exercises.
• Prevents cancer — engaging in physical activity helps to reduce the risk of cancer as it helps upregulate the immune system. The American Institute for Cancer Research and American Cancer Society have repeatedly published a list of recommendations that reflect the evidence they have found through consistency in fitness and dietary factors that directly relate to cancer prevention.
• Decreases blood sugar and cholesterol — regular physical exercise is a factor that helps reduce an individual’s blood sugar and improves cholesterol levels by increasing sugar utilization by the muscles and decrease insulin resistance.
• Increases Immune system — physical activity activates the sympathetic nervous system and has shown to increase the levels of natural killer (NK) cells, NK T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and eosinophils, complements, cytokines, antibodies, and T cytotoxic cells.
• Helps fight depression — high-intensity exercise helps release endorphins which are so-called ‘happy hormones’ of the body and make better nerve cell connections that naturally fight depression
• Natural anti-inflammatory — physical fitness produces both a short-term inflammatory response and a long-term anti-inflammatory effect. It regulates cortisol levels and other adrenal hormones producing better pain and inflammation responses.
• Controls weight — exercise levels help the distribution of body fat, increase the amount of muscle in the body, and help keep lean body weight.
• Helps in menopause — hormonal changes may wreak havoc to physical and physiological aspects of the body. One way to prevent or reduce the severity of the symptoms is to keep a moderate amount of fitness at bay.
• Increases concentration — exercise stimulates your body to release proteins and other chemicals that improve the structure and function of your brain hence increased focus and concentration
• Reduce fatigue and stress — cortisol increases in high levels of stress while rigorous activity regulates it. Exercise maintains our focus on our physical body, out of our mental stresses and helps greatly to fight fatigue
• Strengthen your bones and muscles — regular exercise builds strong bones, slow the loss of bone density that comes with age and helps increase or maintain muscle mass and strength.
• Improve your sleep — exercise can help you to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. It is best to do exercise at least 4 hours before sleeping
• Improve your sexual health — exercise may help improve their sexual function and reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction in men and may increase sexual arousal in women.
• Promotes anti-aging — ‘immunosenescence' is the term associated with a decline in the normal functioning of the immune system. Regular exercise lowers levels of the inflammatory cytokines that cause the ‘inflamm-aging.'

To achieve some of these benefits, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests at least 30-60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week.

What research says

A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign showed physical fitness boosts brainpower in kids. The group who were physically fit got an average score of 54.2 percent and the kids who were not fit got an average score of 44.2 percent. The difference was more pronounced when children were asked to remember the map they had learned without the benefit of quizzes — the fit kids scored 43 percent on average, while the unfit kids scored 25.8 percent on average. Researchers found out that “higher levels of fitness have their greatest impact in the most challenging situations.” They also speculated that most of the benefits of being physically fit to come into play when a child is committing new information to memory, and not as much when that information is recalled later.

Another study by the journal BMJ examined 15,174 Olympic medalists and concluded that Olympic medalists stay alive almost three years longer on average than their country's general population. The study found that athletes in endurance sports such as long-distance running were 13 percent more likely to be alive after 30 years than their peers in the general population. For athletes in power sports such as boxing and weightlifting, the advantage was just 5 percent. The study also showed that Russian Olympic winners were 18 percent more likely to be alive after 30 years than their compatriots — more than double the overall advantage 8 percent for all countries studied.

Choosing your exercise intensity:

1. Aerobic activity — includes brisk walking, swimming, jogging. Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity.
2. Strength training — includes weights, weight machines or activities that use your own body weight, such as rock climbing or heavy gardening.

Be realistic and don't push yourself too hard, too fast. Fitness is a lifetime commitment, not a sprint to a finish line.

How to calculate exercise

It is recommended that you exercise within 55 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate for at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the best results from aerobic exercise. The MHR (roughly calculated as 220 minus your age) is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.
For example, say your age is 45 and you want to figure out your target training heart rate zone for vigorous exercise. Subtract 45 from 220 to get 175 — this is your maximum heart rate. Next, calculate your HRR by subtracting your resting heart rate of 80 beats per minute from 175. Your HRR is 95. Multiply 95 by 0.7 to get 66.5, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 146.5. Now multiply 95 by 0.85 to get 80.75, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 160.75. So your target for your vigorous intensity training zone heart rate should be between 146.5 and 160.75 beats per minute.

The American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a general target heart rate of:

• Moderate exercise intensity: 50 to about 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
• Vigorous exercise intensity: 70 to about 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

How to track your performance:

1. Smartwatches — a lot of smartwatches are now available to help you track activity, steps, calories or even heart rate. There are lots to choose from and very efficient to help you track your goal.
2. Mobile applications — fitness applications are readily downloadable to guide you in methods and length or training just like having a personal trainer around. There are also applications catered to monitor the calories and nutrients you’re having for the day.

Eating and exercise intervals

If you exercise in the morning, get up early enough to finish breakfast at least one hour before your workout. Studies suggest eating or drinking carbohydrates before exercise can improve workout performance and may allow you to work out for a longer duration or higher intensity. If you don't eat, you might feel sluggish or lightheaded when you exercise.

• Large meals — eat these at least three to four hours before exercising.
• Small meals or snacks — eat these about one to three hours before exercising.

Don't forget to drink fluids or have a handy water tumbler with you. You need adequate fluids before, during and after exercise to help prevent dehydration.

1. Making breakfast the heaviest and dinner the lightest meal of the day.
2. Eat your salad before you eat the meal.
3. Don’t starve yourself and overeat subsequently.
4. Fast food and canned food are costly both for your pocket and your heart.
5. Yellow, orange and green vegetables and fruits add life to your heart.
6. As your age advances, control your eating and exercise more.

The post Physical fitness keys: nutrition, exercise, and rest appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

For your health, rebounding involves jumping on a mini-trampoline; this increases both blood and lymph circulation. The body contains 5-6 quarts of blood, which is circulated by the heart. But without the lymphatic system, the body cannot effectively eliminate toxins. The lymphatic system is a major dumping ground for toxins and waste products. Exercising on a rebounder promotes the flow of lymph, thereby flushing the toxins.

All forms of exercise work on the principle of opposing gravity, according to Albert Carter, investigative journalist, professional trampolinist, and the world’s foremost authority on rebound exercise. “Gravity starts pulling on us before we are born and continues to pull on us until we die,” he said. “We do have the fight of physical exertion — opposing gravity — and most of us have the idea that when we are opposing gravity,  that ‘we’ are the only part of the body that is opposing gravity, but every part of the body, regardless of where it is, has to cope with or adjust to the gravitational pull of the earth.

“What most people don’t realize is, all of the cells of the body, regardless of where they are, have to do the same thing. For example, the lymphocytes, the t-cells, have the responsibility of keeping us healthy but they have to do it in regards to the gravitational pull of the earth.

“Rebound exercises utilizes the forces of gravity, as well as the forces of acceleration and deceleration,” Carter said. “When you land on a rebounder, every cell in the body has to adjust to the increased deceleration. When the springs take over and push the body up into the air, then the body has to adjust to a weightless condition for only a moment at a time. But that weightless condition is throughout the entire body regardless of where the cells are.

“We’ve found that the best exercise is rebound exercise, which allows the more than 100 trillion cells of the body to adjust to an environment that it is not used to, which is deceleration at the bottom of the bounce.”

Rebounding and the Immune System

According to Carter, one of the most amazing benefits of rebound exercise is how it improves lymphatic circulation, thereby strengthening the immune system and making it more effective.

“There are lymph channels throughout the entire body,” he said. “You have three times as much lymph fluid in the body as you do blood. Lymph fluid has to circulate from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head, but it’s not connected up to the heart.

“The way the lymphatic system works is the lymphocytes, the white blood cells, are moved through the body via one-way valves. You’ve got these valves from the bottom of the feet upwards throughout the entire body – and the valves all point upwards. So when you move the body around, the lymph fluid is always moving in one direction, that is up towards the neck.

“At the top of the chest you have the lymph valves that allow the lymph fluid to flow into the bloodstream, or back into the lymphatic system where it circulates back down into the body. By activating the one-way valves  of the lymphatic system, you cause an increase in lymph circulation by 10 times of what the lymphatic system is able to circulate when you are sitting around doing nothing.  So when you bounce on rebounder, or jump on the floor, or use a jump rope, the one-way valves open and close about 100 times a minute, circulating the lymph fluid, removing toxins and getting the white blood cells to areas of the body they need to be.”

The immune system is both our civil defense and our janitor, according to Carter. “It clears the body of waste and toxins,” he said.” Our white blood cells are the janitors of the human body.”

Rebounder Exercises for Lymphatic System

You can get all aerobic exercise you need on a rebounder, and get all the lymphatic circulation you need on a rebounder, without the shock and trauma of hitting a hard surface.
~ Albert Carter

“We now understand that one of the most important things we can do for our health and our immune system is to move rapidly,” Carter said. “Jogging is a good form of lymphatic circulation. People are healthier when they jog. The problem with jogging is it is also traumatic to parts of the body such as ankles, knees, back, and legs. This is where rebound exercise comes in. You can get all aerobic exercise you need on a rebounder, and get all the lymphatic circulation you need on a rebounder, without the shock and trauma of hitting a hard surface.

“When we are sitting and doing nothing, the only thing causing any lymphatic circulation is the chest breathing in and out.”

Additional Health Benefits of Rebounding

Poor lymph flow is common in sedentary people; this is one reason why less active individuals are more susceptible to illness. Sedentary people who have poor diets or choose to live on junk food are often unwell because the body sends all the toxins and waste to the lymphatic system. The lymph flow is poor due to a lack of exercise, so toxins accumulate in the body.

Additional benefits of rebounding include:

• Increased lymphocyte activity (2)
• Physically strengthens muscular system (3)
• Easy on joints (6)
• Helps improve balance (4)
• Strengthens cells (5)
• Improves cardiovascular function (5)
• Helps improve the effects of other exercise- one study found that those who rebounded for 30 seconds between weight lifting sets saw 25 percent more improvement after 12 weeks than those who did not.
• Builds physical strength, muscular development and proprioception for athletes (7)

Natural News reports bouncing on a rebounder for two minutes every hour is good therapy for preventing or treating cancer. One hour after rebounding, white blood cell count normalizes. Rebounding every hour will keep your immune system in optimum running condition, as rebounding will flush the lymphatic system.

The History of the Trampoline

According to Olympic.org, George Nissen and Larry Griswold built the first trampoline around 1934 at the University of Iowa. It was originally used to train tumblers and astronauts and as a training tool to develop and hone acrobatic skills for other sports including diving, gymnastics and freestyle skiing.

People enjoyed the sensation of jumping and bouncing so much, they began to trampoline for sheer fun, and it became popular in its own right. (1)

Does Rebounding Really Work?

The short answer is yes, and that is backed up by a landmark study completed in 1980. This often-quoted research on the benefits of rebound exercise was completed by NASA scientists who concluded that rebounding on a trampoline is 68 percent more effective than jogging and yet requires less effort.

Below is a short video that explains the findings of the NASA study:

From Trampolinist to Authority on Rebounding

I was like, wait a minute, there’s something phenomenal happening to my kids. That’s when we began to study what was happening to the body (during trampoline exercise) to figure out what in the world was happening to me and my children.
~ Albert Carter

Carter, now 76, has been trampolining since he was 14 years old and spent years traveling the country with his family performing on trampolines as the Gymnastics Fantastics.

It was a long road from trampolining to being an authority on rebound exercise, according to Carter. Carter’s natural inquisitive nature led him to begin researching why he and his family, as well as other trampoliners he knew, seemed to exhibit more physical strength, stamina, agility, and flexibility than others of the same age – even others who diligently engaged in other forms of exercise. For example,  his first-grade son did 429 sit-ups non-stop, followed by his fourth-grade daughter who did 476.

“I was like, wait a minute, there’s something phenomenal happening to my kids,” he said. “That’s when we began to study what was happening to the body (during trampoline exercise) to figure out what in the world was happening to me and my children.  This is what led us to the study of human physiology.

“It’s at that time we began to study what happens to the physical body, not only in balance and coordination, but in timing and dexterity, which are things we were developing with trampolining. We also found that we had fewer colds, we were healthier, we were stronger, and therefore trampolining was something we were able to indicate that builds balance, coordination, rhythm, timing, dexterity, and kinesthetic awareness.

“We also became concerned about what happens to the inside of the body and what happens to the relationship between good physical condition and cancer. “

Cancer, the Immune System and Rebounding

According to Carter, “If we all had a healthy immune system, we would not have to worry about cancer.”

There are four things we humans can do with very little education or effort, according to Carter.

Cell food

“We need to identify what foods are healthy for the body and what foods are not healthy for the body,” he said. “We need to find those foods that are conducive to good health and eat those foods in proper amounts.  And we need to stop taking in foods that are not healthy – highly processed foods, alcohol, sugar, etc.”

Cell exercise

“Cell exercise is an exercise that we use to exercise the entire body all at once,” Carter said. “This is where we get involved with rebound exercise.”

Cell environment

According to Carter, cell environment goes back to how the immune system works and how the lymphatic system circulates. Keeping the lymphatic system moving vastly improves its effectiveness and drinking plenty of good, clean water is also crucial to a healthy immune system and a healthy body.

Cell communication

“This is an amazing idea,” Carter said. “Every cell has the ability to communicate with all the cells surrounding it. Any cell that touches another cell is communicating. All cells also have the ability to communicate by sending messages from one group of cells to another group of cells.

“Changing your attitude has a significant effect on how your lymphatic system performs their duties in fighting cancer.”

As Chris Wark points out, healing cancer requires a total life change. You have to address all the health-destroying factors in your life:

• A processed food diet loaded with sugar, salt, meat, dairy and artificial ingredients
• Unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, legal / illegal drug use, lack of sleep
• Lack of exercise, and extreme exercises like marathons, triathlons, and even crossfit
• Chronic stress
• Negative emotions like guilt and unforgiveness
• Spiritual sickness
• Environmental toxic exposure

Rebounding is Safe for Nearly Everyone

Nearly anyone can participate in rebound exercise, according to Carter. “Children can do it as well as the infirm,” he said. For those who are unable to stand, Carter suggested they sit in a chair with their feet on a rebounder and have someone else do easy bounces on the rebounder. Or, an infirm person or someone with limited mobility can sit on the rebounder and another person can gently bounce directly behind them.

There are many simple and safe rebounder exercises for seniors, folks with limited mobility, and beginners.

Types of Rebound Exercise

The Health Bounce

The health bounce is where the feet never leave trampoline. “This still has positive effect,” Carter said. “You’re getting all the one-way valves to open and close at the same time, increasing the activity of the lymphatic system throughout the entire body.” Follow the instructions for the basic bounce below, but your feet never leave the trampoline surface during the health bounce.

The Basic Bounce

This can be done instead of the Strength Bounce below until you develop more balance.

1. Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Relax shoulders and arms and keep arms slightly bent at the elbow.
3. Gently bounce up and down while keeping your knees slightly bent. Your feet should never leave the trampoline surface more than a few inches.

The Strength Bounce

1. Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart.
2. Relax shoulders and arms and keep arms slightly bent at the elbow.
3. Gently bounce up and down while keeping your knees slightly bent. Your feet should leave the trampoline surface approximately 8-12 inches.

High Knees

This is a terrific exercise that gets your heart rate up while working the muscles of your core.

1. Stand on trampoline surface with your feet hip distance apart.
2. Raise your right knee, lower it, then raise your left knee and lower it.
3. Once you feel able, begin doing the knee raises as if you are running in place.
4. Variation: Sprints – go as fast as you can in short bursts.

Butt Kickers

1. Stand on trampoline surface with your feet hip distance apart.
2. Begin jogging in place.
3. When your knee goes up, kick yourself in the tush with your heel.

Jumping Jacks

This will increase your heart rate while working both the inner and outer thighs.

1. Stand on the rebounder with your feet together
2. Jump up off the trampoline surface a few inches while extending arms out, up and overhead
3. Return to the starting position and repeat.

Twisting Jumps

1. Stand on the rebounder with your feet together
2. Jump up off the trampoline surface a few inches while twisting your body to the left.
3. On your next jump, twist your body to the right.

One Leg Jumps

1. Stand on the rebounder with your feet shoulder width apart
2. Begin jumping on one leg for 3-10 bounces.
3. Switch legs and jump on the other leg for 3-10 bounces.
4. Variation: kick out the leg you are not jumping on.
5. Variation: alternate legs every bounce, kicking out non-jumping leg.

Sample Beginner Routine

These are perfect rebounder workouts for beginners.

1. Health bounce for two minutes while breathing deeply.
2. Strength bounce for 3 minutes (do the basic bounce if you don't have enough balance for the strength bounce).
3. Health bounce for an additional 2-3 minutes while breathing deeply.
4. Repeat three times daily.

Sample Advanced Routine

1. Health bounce for 2 minutes while breathing deeply.
2. Strength bounce for 3 minutes.
3. High knees alternating with butt kickers for 3 minutes.
4. 10-15 second sprint.
5. Jumping jacks for 3 minutes.
6. Twisting jumps for 2 minutes.
7. 10-15 second sprint.
8. Strength bounce for 1 minute.
9. Health bounce (cool down) for 2 minutes.

You can find more great resources for rebounding exercises below in the Frequently Asked Questions.

Cautions

It is always best to consult your medical professional before beginning any type of exercise program. It is also important to always supervise children on a mini-trampoline.

For stability, most retailers of rebounders sell an optional handlebar to attach to the rebounder to help with balance. Carter suggests placing your rebounder beside a wall or in a doorway and using the door facings or wall to help keep you balanced while performing rebound exercise.

How Much Rebounding is Enough?

Even bouncing a few times a day will help improve your health and immune system, according to Carter. “Five times a day is better than three, three is better than one and one is better than none,” he said.

What to Look for in a Rebounder

According to Carter, the worst thing you could do is get a mini-trampoline at a discount store.

Recommended Rebounder Features:

• Make sure it has a lifetime guarantee.
• Look for 36 springs of good-quality and made of carbon steel #80.
• A permatron mat that will not wear out and will last a lifetime.
• The frame should be strong enough to not bend.
• Be ready to pay for quality.

A Story of Healing

Carter has his own story of how rebound exercise helped him to heal from a life-threatening condition. Two years ago, at the age of 74, Carter was rushed to the local hospital after waking up at 4 am and feeling that something just wasn’t right.

The doctors determined his heart wasn’t beating properly, but by the time they got him into a room, his heart had stopped beating. Using a defibrillator, they got his heart re-started three minutes later.

According to Carter, this event forced him to retire from his rebounding business. He admits that he had gotten so busy with the day-to-day running of his business that he had stopped rebounding.

“I was managing my company so hard I was not taking care of myself,” he explained. “So, I sold my company and retired. I fully expected to go the way of the world and die. The problem was I had a trampoline in my backyard. I started jumping and lo and behold I became healthy again. My heart is now functioning as it should.

“And, get this, two months ago I went in for a physical examination and part of the examination was to check my eyes. And they doctor said something was wrong with his equipment because I had 20/20 vision. I got a clean bill of health.”

According to Carter, the unique and scientifically proven ability of rebound exercise to combine the forces of gravity, acceleration and deceleration make it one of the most effective exercises to strengthen the immune system and improve overall health. And he, he said, is living proof.

Frequently Asked Questions

According to Chris Wark, we have about three times more lymphatic fluid than blood, but here’s the catch, there’s no pump!  Muscle contractions in the body encourage the lymphatic fluid to circulate through a series of one-way valves in your body. So the more you move your body, the more you move your lymphatic fluid. (10)

This increased lymphatic circulation strengthens your immune system, enabling it to better fight any illness or dis-ease you are experiencing.

The post Rebounding: Science Behind the 7 Major Health Benefits of Rebound Exercise appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

However the American Cancer Association now recommends that all cancer patients enjoy regular exercise; the concern about any damage caused by exercise during treatment has been proven to be unfounded. According to the Mayo Clinic, it has even been found that exercising during your chemotherapy treatment can help to minimize its negative side effects.

The benefits of exercise

If you feel reluctant to exercise while you are dealing with cancer then you may find it helpful to focus on some of the benefits of regular exercise to cancer patients. Exercising regularly during treatment can significantly reduce your risk of cancer recurrence, and can also provide you with a boost of energy that will help to minimize the side effects of conventional cancer treatment.

For these reasons, many experts now believe exercise should be prescribed as a standard part of cancer care, with Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, stating “Cancer patients would be shocked if they knew just how much of a benefit physical activity could have on their recovery and long-term health.”

That doesn't mean you need to exercise every day if you don't feel physically able. Whether you are in the middle of your cancer treatment or not, it is possible to do too much exercise and some cancer patients risk developing an unhealthy relationship with the exercise by focusing too much on it, and not listening to their body when it is telling them to stop.

Over-exercising will leave you at increased risk of suffering from muscle strain, broken bone and other forms of overuse injury, and these ailments are likely to heal much slower than they might usually during your cancer treatment because your immune system will already be weakened, so it is important to listen to your body, exercise as often as you are able but avoid doing too much, and stop as soon as you feel you've had enough.

Be risk aware

Of course the type of exercise you are able to enjoy, and the amount of regular exercise you can undertake is likely to depend on the type of cancer you have and its severity. For this reason, we recommend that you consult your physician before you embark on any new exercise program.

Lifting weights might be a great form of exercise for you if you have a melanoma on your leg, for example, whilst someone who has recently had surgery for their breast cancer will be advised to avoid weight lifting or other forms of resistance training involving their upper body. This is because individuals who have recently undergone breast cancer surgery, may be at increased risk of developing lymphedema: this is the swelling of the soft tissues in the arm, hand, trunk, or breast that may be accompanied by numbness, discomfort, and sometimes infection, and is something that should be avoided wherever possible in breast cancer patients.

Some doctors and the breast cancer patients themselves are worried that strength training during the course of treatment could trigger the onset of lymphedema, and it is understandable why this leaves many women feeling reluctant to exercise.It is important that you are aware of the risks certain exercise types could pose to your body during your treatment, that you discuss these with your physician, and that you change your exercise routine accordingly. However there is no form of cancer that should leave you unable to exercise altogether, so whatever you find you are able to do, you should get up, move your body, and do it.

It is important that you are aware of the risks certain exercise types could pose to your body during your treatment, that you discuss these with your physician, and that you change your exercise routine accordingly. However there is no form of cancer that should leave you unable to exercise altogether, so whatever you find you are able to do, you should get up, move your body, and do it.

— Helen Bennett

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There are 4,600 new cases of cancer reported each day. In A World Without Cancer, Dr. Cuomo highlights 10 lifestyle changes to lower the risk of cancer while improving the quality of life.

A World Without Cancer is a one-hour PBS program that also features Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning documentarian Ken Burns and Songwriters Hall of Fame member Valerie Simpson, both of whom lost a parent to cancer at a young age.

Dr. Cuomo shows how changes can have an immense impact in cancer prevention. The program includes:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Daily physical activity
• Smoking
• Alcohol
• Sun damage
• Vaccines
• Avoiding environmental chemicals
• Managing stress
• Sleep
• Social connections

“You can reduce your risk for cancer,” says Dr. Cuomo, a board certified radiologist and national advocate for the prevention of cancer. “We bring together the brightest minds in medicine and cancer research to reveal the truth that lifestyle changes and environmental factors can have a major impact on your health.”

Cancer affects one in two men and one in three women in the United States — but there are ways to help prevent cancer.

“Exercise really does seem to play an important role in cancer and it's prevention, ” says Dr. Pallav Mehta, Director of Integrative Oncology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. “Regular physical activity seems to decrease inflammatory markers in the blood.”

The program also addresses things you can do around the home to prevent cancer — open the windows and let the fresh air flow! — as well as the benefits of herbal teas and epigenetics.

“Biochemically we actually know [mental state of mind] affects your genes,” says Dr. Wendy Warner with Medicine in Balance. “Changing your emotional state and being connected with somebody changes your genes, turns off genes that are promoting cancer. I find that fascinating, that we've been able to prove the science.”

• Find out when the program airs in your area

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The trial investigated the effects of a 12-week exercise intervention including home-based walking exercise training and weekly exercise counseling on 111 lung cancer patients ranging in age from late 30s to early 80s. Almost two-thirds had Stage I cancer. Participants were randomly allocated to receive the intervention or usual care. [1]

Outcomes included:

• objective sleep
• total sleep time
• sleep efficiency
• sleep onset latency
• wake after sleep onset
• subjective sleep
• rest-activity rhythms

Outcomes were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months after intervention.

“Walking is safe, feasible and effective for patients. Just walk!” senior author Chia-Chin Lin, a nursing professor at Taipei Medical University, told Reuters Health. “With advances in lung cancer treatment, survival improves significantly,” she said. “Any interventions that can improve symptoms and quality of life are valuable.” [2]

Patients were divided into two groups:

56 patients

• Walk at a moderate intensity for 40 minutes three times a week
• Record their exercise after every session
• Participate in weekly exercise counseling sessions
• Wore wrist monitors that collected subjective and objective sleep data

55 patients

• Receive usual medical care
• Opportunity for exercise counseling

“Traditionally, physical activities have not been emphasized in lung cancer patients due to concerns about fragility and limited cardiopulmonary function,” Lin said. “However, we found that home-based walking programs may be a safe and feasible way to improve emotion and sleep quality.”

The study also looked at circadian rhythms; researchers measured how consistently patients woke and went to sleep at the same times each day. They found that exercise was linked to improved sleep quality. People whose circadian rhythms were most disrupted got the most benefit.

These rhythms are believed to influence several aspects of health such as heart rate, sleep, inflammation, and metabolism. The altered circadian function can increase the risk for a number of chronic diseases, Lin said.

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For example, regular brisk walking can help you:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes
• Strengthen your bones and muscles
• Improve your mood
• Improve your balance and coordination

The faster, farther and more frequently you walk, the greater the benefits.

Research out of the University of Michigan Medical School and the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System says those who exercise regularly in their fifties and sixties are 35 percent less likely to die over the next eight years than their non-walking counterparts. That number shoots up to 45 percent less likely for those who have underlying health conditions.

The majority of joint cartilage has no direct blood supply. It gets its nutrition from synovial or joint fluid that circulates as we move. Impact that comes from movement or compression, such as walking, “squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen and nutrients into the area. If you don’t walk, joints are deprived of life-giving fluid, which can speed deterioration.

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh recently revealed that overweight people who walked briskly for 30 to 60 minutes a day lost weight even if they didn't change any other lifestyle habits.

Health experts recommend that we should walk 10,000 steps a day (about five miles) to stay healthy. However, you probably need to tot up at least 16,000 steps a day to lose weight. Adding hills to your route will speed up calorie burning.

Walking can help to prevent many diseases and illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, according to the Better Health Channel. It can also help boost healthy cholesterol and ease back pain. Walking daily can also strengthen your bones, which is an important benefit, given that having weak and deteriorating bones can lead to serious conditions such as osteoporosis.

Sources: www.mayoclinic.org, www.arthritis.org, www.active.com, www.livestrong.com

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With regular work and patience, these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energized states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.

There are many things in life that are beyond our control. However, it is possible to take responsibility for our own states of mind — and to change them for the better. This is the most important thing we can do, and some believe that it is the only real antidote to our own personal sorrows, and to the anxieties, fears, hatreds, and general confusions that beset the human condition.

Among the physical benefits of meditation:

• Strengthen Immunity
• Alkaline PH Balance
• Boost Endorphins
• Boost Serotonin
• Better Endocrine System

Meditation is a precise technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. It is the means for fathoming all the levels of ourselves and finally experiencing the center of consciousness within.

In meditation, the mind is clear, relaxed, and inwardly focused. When you meditate, you are fully awake and alert, but your mind is not focused on the external world or on the events taking place around you.

The goal of meditation is to go beyond the mind and experience our essential nature — which is described as peace, happiness, and bliss. But as anyone who has tried to meditate knows, the mind itself is the biggest obstacle standing between ourselves and this awareness.

Meditation is a practical means for calming yourself, for letting go of your biases and seeing what is, openly and clearly. It is a way of training the mind so that you are not distracted and caught up in its endless churning. It is a system of commitment, not of commandment. You are committing to yourself, to your path, and to the goal of knowing yourself.

Sources: www.innerpeacemeditation.org and www.eocinstitute.org

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While yoga has been practiced for more than 10,000 years, Swami Vivekananda first lectured in the West at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The embrace of yoga in the United States continued at a trickle until Indra Devi opened her yoga studio in Hollywood in 1947.

“We know that exercise is important,” biochemistry researcher Nick Delgado said during the 2014 Cancer Control Society annual meeting. “We know that your emotional status is important. We know that better sleep is important. We have a big challenge – and that is when cancer develops in the body, and a cell divides and mutates.”

By now, you’re probably wondering why or even how yoga fits into oncology. Well, believe it or not, there has been ample research on yoga and cancer patients – and it’s not merely New Age mumbo jumbo. (And you won't have to twist your mind around conflicting conventional and natural modalities; everyone agrees: exercise is good.)

And let's be honest: Everyone wants to rock a pair of yoga pants, right? So, why yoga? Because it's good for your mental and physical well-being. You look better, you feel better, you eat better, you sleep better – it's a better you.

What is yoga?

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to unite. If you’re a male who practices yoga, you are called a yogi; females are called yogini.

(Don’t confuse this with baseball great Yogi Berra, who famously noted, “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Or Yogi Bear, who was the first breakout star in animated TV. Now, where is that pic-a-nic basket, Boo Boo?)

Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-European language. More than 2,000 years ago, Indian wiseman Patanjali is believed to have collected yoga practices into the Yoga Sutra, a collection of 195 statements regarded as the philosophical guidebook for today’s yoga.

The Yoga Sutra has eight branches:

• Asana (postures)
• Dharana (concentration)
• Dhyani (meditation)
• Niyamas (observances)
• Pranayama (breathing)
• Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses)
• Samadhi (absorption)
• Yamas (restraints)

The belief is that as we clarify our behavior and focus inward, we achieve samadhi (enlightenment).

Why yoga?

Hey, no one expects you to be a human pretzel the first time you try yoga. But improved flexibility will be one of the primary benefits of continuing to practice yoga. Stick with it, and you’ll be touching your toes in your sleep (figuratively, of course).

Soon enough, aches and pains will disappear. You’ll notice a loosening in your hips, which will relieve strain on your knees. Also, your spine will adjust, easing back pain in the process. Your posture will improve as muscles and ligaments become more flexible.

“You need to maximize the oxygen in your body,” says Delgado, who authored Healthy Aging Breakthrough. “You have to exercise. You have to move away from toxic substances and alcohol. You have to really make some important changes in your life to have a quality of life.”

As your flexibility improves, your muscles will become stronger. If you’re older, strong muscles help protect against arthritis and back pain.

During yoga, muscles stretch and contract. These movements increase lymph drainage, which helps the lymphatic system fight infection.

Yoga also lowers cortisol levels. Adrenal glands secrete cortisol in response to a crisis, which temporarily boosts immune function. However, if cortisol levels remain elevated after the disaster, this may compromise your immune system.

Researchers have found high cortisol levels lead to “food-seeking behavior” – eating when you’re upset or stressed. Those extra calories ultimately contribute to weight gain.

You know exercise and diet go hand in hand – move more, eat less – and yoga encompasses both. Yoga gets you moving and burns calories. You may even become a more conscious eater.

Studies also suggest regular yoga practice leads to better sleep. Researchers noted yoga for cancer survivors is useful for treating cancer-related fatigue. In one study of 410 cancer patients, 22% to 37% of the improvements in cancer-related fatigue from yoga therapy resulted in improved sleep quality. [1]

Why yoga for cancer patients?

In 2020, an estimated 1.8 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed, and 606,520 cancer deaths in the United States. Risk factors – i.e., alcohol abuse, being overweight, tobacco use, and unhealthy diets – contribute to cancer progression and outcomes. [2]

Cancer diagnosis and treatment also can increase stress. Yoga is one of the most used complementary modalities to manage the effects of cancer. Results from existing studies suggest yoga leads to improvements in mental health, fatigue, sleep quality, and other aspects of quality of life. [3]

Cancer-related fatigue and sleep disruption contribute to cognitive impairment and psychological distress. These symptoms reduce cancer patients’ abilities to enjoy essential life activities – work, errands, eating, exercise – and diminishes recovery and quality of life. In severe cases, there is a significant increase in mortality. [4]

According to one review of cancer-yoga studies, yoga improved the physical and psychological symptoms, quality of life, and markers of the patients’ immunity, providing strong support for yoga’s integration into routine cancer care. [5]

Some conventional scientists are embracing the mind-matter relationship and its importance in treating cancer. Because of its health-related benefits, yoga is an integral part of Ayurveda, India’s indigenous medical system, as described in Charak Samhita and Susruta Samhita.

A 2019 review of 58 randomized controlled trials suggested that yoga can help cancer patients reduce stress during treatment. Yoga also was found to minimize post-treatment sleep and cognition problems. [6]

Benefits of yoga

Understanding the importance of exercise is only part of the equation. The restorative aspects of a good night’s sleep cannot be overlooked.

In 2018, based on 24 Phase II and one Phase III clinical trials, researchers found low-intensity yoga was effective for treating sleep disruption and cancer-related fatigue in patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation. [7]

Also, yoga may be beneficial in treating fatigue and depression in cancer survivors. (The researchers included all randomized controlled trials of yoga-based interventions that examined effects on fatigue in adult patients diagnosed with any type of cancer – not specific cancer(s) – in the current systematic review and meta-analysis.) [8]

Yoga focuses on your body’s natural tendency toward health and self-healing.

While there are more than 100 different types of yoga, most sessions typically include breathing exercises, meditation, and assuming postures (sometimes called asana or poses) that stretch and flex various muscle groups.

Among the health benefits of yoga: [9]

Drains your lymph and boosts immunity

When you contract and stretch muscles, move organs around, and come in and out of yoga postures, you increase the drainage of lymph (a viscous fluid rich in immune cells). This helps the lymphatic system fight infection, destroy cancerous cells, and dispose of the toxic waste products of cellular functioning.

Boosts your immune system functionality

Asana and pranayama probably improve immune function, but, so far, meditation has the strongest scientific support in this area. [5] It appears to have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the immune system, boosting it when needed (for example, raising antibody levels in response to a vaccine) and lowering it when needed (for instance, mitigating an inappropriately aggressive immune function in an autoimmune disease like psoriasis).

Lowers blood sugar

Yoga lowers blood sugar and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and boosts HDL (“good”) cholesterol. In people with diabetes, yoga has been found to lower blood sugar in several ways: by lowering cortisol and adrenaline levels, encouraging weight loss, and improving sensitivity to the effects of insulin. Get your blood sugar levels down, and you decrease your risk of diabetic complications such as heart attack, kidney failure, and blindness.

Prevents cartilage and joint breakdown

Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion. This can help prevent degenerative arthritis or mitigate disability by “squeezing and soaking” areas of cartilage that normally aren’t used. Joint cartilage is like a sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear out, exposing the underlying bone-like worn-out brake pads.

Betters your bone health

It’s well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps ward off osteoporosis. Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight. And some, like Downward- and Upward-Facing Dog, help strengthen the arm bones, which are particularly vulnerable to osteoporotic fractures. In an unpublished study conducted at California State University-Los Angeles, yoga practice increased bone density in the vertebrae. Yoga’s ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol may help keep calcium in the bones.

Drops your blood pressure

If you have high blood pressure, you might benefit from yoga. Two studies of people with hypertension, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, compared the effects of Savasana (Corpse Pose) with simply lying on a couch. After three months, Savasana was associated with a 26-point drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number – and the higher the initial blood pressure, the bigger the drop.

Yoga founds a healthy lifestyle

Move more, eat less – that’s the adage of many dieters. Yoga can help on both fronts. A regular practice gets you moving and burns calories and the spiritual and emotional dimensions of your practice may encourage you to address any eating and weight problems on a deeper level. Yoga may also inspire you to become a more conscious eater.

Maintains your nervous system

Some advanced yogis can control their bodies in extraordinary ways, many of which are mediated by the nervous system. Scientists have monitored yogis who could induce unusual heart rhythms, generate specific brain-wave patterns, and, use a meditation technique, raise the temperature of their hands by 15 degrees Fahrenheit. If they can use yoga to do that, perhaps you could learn to improve blood flow to your pelvis if you’re trying to get pregnant or induce relaxation when you’re having trouble falling asleep.

Keeps allergies and viruses at bay

Kriyas, or cleansing practices, are another element of yoga. They include everything from rapid breathing exercises to elaborate internal cleansings of the intestines. Jala neti, which entails a gentle lavage of the nasal passages with salt water, removes pollen and viruses from the nose, keeps mucus from building up, and helps drains the sinuses.

Uses the placebo effect, to affect change

Just believing you will get better can make you better. Unfortunately, many conventional scientists believe that if something works by eliciting the placebo effect, it doesn’t count. But most patients just want to get better, so if chanting a mantra — as you might do at the beginning or end of yoga class or throughout a meditation or in the course of your day — facilitates healing, even if it’s just a placebo effect, why not do it?

Summary of science

Overall, studies show yoga has benefits as a mind-body modality for cancer patients – but the majority of the research has centered around breast cancer patients. More clinical trials are needed to evaluate the effects of yoga on other cancers.

Studies have linked yoga with reduced fatigue in cancer patients and shown fatigue decreased the more yoga sessions they did per week. Researchers found that regular yoga practice can improve functional well-being in both cancer patients and survivors.

Also, yoga helps decrease body fat density, which reduces the risk of cancer recurrence.

FAQs

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