Is trampoline jumping beneficial for my pelvic floor?

Jenni is a 31-year-old mother of two and Patricia is a 62-year-old mother of five. They both reached out to Pelvic Balance Physical Therapy to address stress urinary incontinence (SUI) which happens when there is an involuntary loss of urine with movement or activity. Many people experience this with coughing, laughing, sneezing, bending, or lifting activities. I’ve recently had a few women with similar concerns to Jenni and Patricia ask about the benefits of trampoline training. Like any exercise, trampoline jumping can be a wonderful form of exercise if you train your body to withstand the length of time and intensity of that particular exercise. In fact, jumping on a trampoline increases pelvic floor muscle activation in healthy females without urinary leakage. 

A study of healthy women following a 12-week aerobic dance on mini-trampolines for 40 minutes 3 times a week were found to have increased bone formation and a decrease in bone resorption (breakdown) which is beneficial for bone density. Aerobic dance on mini trampolines had more leg muscle strength and balance with less foot pressure as compared to those who did aerobic dance on a hard wooden floor.2 

Another study looked at 3-months of mini-trampoline jumping for postmenopausal women aged 50-69 years old.3 They found that women who participated in 40-minute sessions 3 times a week had reduced stress urinary incontinence. This may be due to improving their ability to contract their pelvic floor muscles more quickly. The trampoline jumping group was also found to have improved bone mineral density in their calcaneus (the heel bone). There was no significant improvement for those with urinary urge incontinence.3 

It is important to remember that if you are doing an activity, like jumping on a trampoline, and experiencing urinary leakage, an assessment from a pelvic floor therapist is a must. When you have urinary leakage, it is the body’s way of telling us that something is not functioning at its optimal level. It’s kind of like lifting a weight that is too heavy. Often, we need to reduce the weight and then build up to it. The same can be said for trampoline jumping. It can be a wonderful way to increase leg strength, balance, possibly increase bone density, increase aerobic health, and improve pelvic floor reaction time; however, training needs to be done at a level that is challenging yet doable for the body. If you are struggling with leakage with this or any other activity than reach out your local pelvic floor therapist to get your body functioning at its most optimal level!

Written by Jordan Schmidt, PT, DPT

References

1. Saeuberli, P., Schraknepper, A., Eichelberger, P., Luginbuehl, H., & Radlinger, L. (2018). Reflex activity of pelvic floor muscles during drop landings and mini-trampolining—exploratory study. International Urogynecology Journal, 29(12), 1833-1840.
2. Sukkeaw, W., Kritpet, T., & Bunyaratavej, N. (2015). A Comparison between the Effects of Aerobic Dance Training on Mini-Trampoline and Hard Wooden Surface on Bone Resorption, Health-Related Physical Fitness, Balance, and Foot Plantar Pressure in Thai Working Women. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand = Chotmaihet thangphaet, 98 Suppl 8, S58–S64.
3. Fricke, A., Fink, P., Rowlands, D., Lark, S., Mundel, T., & Shultz, S. (2023). Mini-Trampoline Jumping as an Exercise Intervention for Postmenopausal Women. Journal of Womenʼs Health Physical Therapy, 47(1), 19-25.