Feb 19 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A FORMER Kinross sheep farmer-turned green crusader has finally put 20 years of back pain behind her.

Carol Davies (63), currently planting 1000 conservation trees on her Nethermoss Farm, was plagued with excruciating pain due to a condition called scoliosis that got increasingly debilitating in her 40s.

A sideways curvature of the spine, scoliosis affects more than four per cent of the UK’s population.

Conventional treatment, however, involves waiting until a patient’s condition is severe enough for a high-risk operation using surgically-inserted metal rods to fuse the spinal column.

But after a month of alternative, non-surgical treatment three years ago at a new Suffolk-based clinic using techniques available in Europe for decades, Mrs Davies is now relatively pain-free.

“At the clinic I did six hours of special exercises a day,” she said.

“There were a lot of stretching and breathing exercises designed to de-rotate the spine. I have to say, it was a tough four weeks.”

Now no longer on painkillers, she does 40 minutes of special exercises a day and visits the clinic once a year.

Although her scoliosis only started causing major grief much later, it was first diagnosed after a horse riding accident when she was 14.

“The doctors found it when they saw my x-rays,” Mrs Davies explained.

“A lot of people have scoliosis and don’t know until it starts causing them pain when they’re older.”

It was only when Mrs Davies and her husband Ted started running a flock of 30 Suffolk breeding ewes at their farm 24 years ago that her back pain really started to flare up.

“I’d always been active, played a lot of squash, but the pain started to get much worse,” she said.

Finding only temporary relief from treatments such as massage, acupuncture and physiotherapy, she was eventually referred by her GP to an Edinburgh consultant who told her a “risky” operation was her only option.

“He advised me not to have it and to come back and see him if the pain became unbearable,” she said.

But by the time she reached her pain threshold, it appeared she had missed the boat.

“(The consultant) wouldn’t see me as I was 59 and he was only treating younger people. I was quite annoyed as the pain was really debilitating, really dreadful,” she said.

Fortunately, Robert, one of her two sons, called to tell her about a breakfast TV report on the just opened Scoliosis SOS clinic in Sussex, where she subsequently sought non-surgical treatment.

“I suffered for a long time and now I’m standing up straight, which I certainly wasn’t before,” she said.

Her days of “couping” sheep, however, are now also behind her.

“We gave up the sheep breeding in 2008, only have four sheep left, but we’re now planting broadleaf trees for conservation, hoping to help with the carbon footprint of the world,” said Mrs Davies.

They can be life-threatening at times, and they can certainly affect the quality of the patient’s life.

There are many neurological conditions and physiotherapy can help many of them.
Alzheimer’s disease takes away the declining years of many older people.
It is surprising to note that it can occur in people 40 years old or younger.
ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a disease that robs the brain and spinal cord of the ability to move.

Both of these are neurological diseases that can be helped by physiotherapy.
MS, another of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline.

Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain.
This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking.
Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.

Guillain Barre Syndrome is one of the types of neurological conditions that affect the brain and spinal cord too.

It is a case of the person’s own immune system attacking outside these areas.
It can be severe enough to require emergency hospitalization. Physiotherapy offers help with regaining strength and adapting to life with the disease.

Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat.
Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles.

Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating. A great amount of physiotherapy is needed to help Myasthenia Gravis patients to live with their neurological conditions.

This includes strength training, training in the use of supportive devices, and help with common tasks.

One problem physiotherapists face when working with MG patients is that too much exercise will make their condition worse and not better. Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes.

It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all. Difficulty swallowing or breathing; dizziness, poor balance and falls, and a total lack of endurance plague many of these patients who have neurological conditions. Medications or surgeries can help with some of their problems, but many problems are ones they will have to abide.

Physiotherapy can offer solutions that other branches of medicine cannot.
Exercises, as in most physiotherapy, include strengthening and stretching exercises.
In whatever way is possible, patients with neurological conditions need to get aerobic exercise.

Physiotherapists may be able to make a plan so that this is possible.
Part of this plan for patients with neurological conditions would include balance training and coordination training. With these two skills in place, the patient will have a more advanced ability to do aerobic and other exercises. Aquatic exercise is also used.

Patients with neurological conditions must live with many problems of lack of movement and function.

Physiotherapy can help them to overcome some of these problems.It can make their lives easier and more pleasant, besides.

Princeton Union Eagle
By Joel Stottrup



Three Princeton students are now enjoying what most kids take for granted — riding a bicycle.

For a long time eighth graders Stephanie Ackerman and Brady Hopland, and fifth grader Colton Benner were unable to ride regular bicycles because of their disabilities. But they could ride the adaptive kind of bikes available during school hours when they had adaptive physical education. However, when they were not in school they were out of luck. They just had to watch other kids ride their bikes.

That changed for Stephanie, Brady and Colton this year, as they got their own bicycles, bikes with three wheels that they can ride. The idea came about after Princeton developmental adapted phy ed instructor JoAnn Aderman began thinking about the bicycle-deficit plight of the three.

“Every kid deserves a bike,” Aderman said at her office last week. “Most kids want to be mobile, get around. Most kids want to ride a bike, they want to swim and be able to get places.”

Trouble is, the three-wheel adaptive bicycles designed for children with disabilities can cost hundreds of dollars and are unaffordable for many families.

Aderman had met Sally Brown who has a St. Paul-based business called Every Kid Mobility that helps find and obtain bicycles for families with kids with disabilities. Brown, who has cerebral palsy, got her own adaptive bicycle at age 50.

Eighth-grader Stephanie Ackerman's adaptive bike allows her to ride with her firends. "Every kid deserves a bike," said adapted phy ed instructor JoAnn Aderman.

For a child to get their own bike and ride is “such a life change,” Brown said last Thursday. “Riding a bike is like a rite of passage. It’s an amazing thing.”

Brown puts on bike fairs during which people can look at the different styles of adaptive bicycles available and see which ones would be suitable. Aderman met Brown at one of those fairs.

Brady would need an especially adaptive bike as he is severely disabled physically and cognitively, said Aderman. The adaptive bicycle he ended up with through the help of Brown, would be the most expensive at $1,700. Colton’s would be the next most expensive at $700-800, according to Aderman, and Stephanie’s bicycle would come in at about $200. Stephanie’s requirement was mainly that it have three wheels and coaster and hand brakes, Aderman explained.

Brady’s three-wheel bike had to have certain cables and a special seat, handlebars and pedals, Aderman noted.

Before the bicycles could be purchased, funding had to be arranged. The three families applied for and received grants from Minnesota Big Dads, Inc., Princeton Lions Club and Minnesota P.E.O. Home Fund to fund the purchases. Money was also donated by some Princeton school staff members, mostly at the middle school and some at North Elementary, Aderman said.

Colton’s new adaptive bicycle is a three wheeler that sits low to the ground and has a sleek, low slung look.

The left side of Colton’s body is compromised by the post strep autoimmune dystonia that he had when he was seven and at the end of second grade, his mother Bobbi Benner noted.

During the summers of 2007 and 2008, the Benners tried seeing if Colton could ride a regular bicycle. They added training wheels, and also Velcro to keep both of his feet on the pedals.

“But it was hard for him and he still wiped out,” Bobbi said. “He couldn’t get going fast enough and he couldn’t stop. He was frustrated and he would cry.”

Colton, Stephanie and Brady received their adaptive bicycles this past summer.

Colton’s new adaptive bike is “super cool,” Bobbi says. “All his cousins and stuff want to ride it. It’s real smooth. He doesn’t need to worry about the balance and he can go a lot faster, smoother.”

Colton can now also keep up with the rest of his family when they are bicycling, and Colton rides much longer, Bobbi says.

Colton has ridden with family members from his home outside city limits and into Princeton to go to the Dairy Queen. He’s also been able to go on the bicycle during family camping trips.

“It’s been really neat for him,” Bobbi said. “It’s kind of a freedom thing. He’s just so excited.”

Bobbi remembers that, at first, Colton hesitated checking out an adaptive bike, thinking he would not look so good on one. She remembers that when the family took him to an adaptive bike fair in St. Cloud to look at adaptive bikes that she could hardly get him out of the car. But once he was at the fair and trying one of the adaptive bicycles he liked, she could hardly get him to leave.

“It’s been really fun,” Bobbi said. “We were really thankful for JoAnn’s help and referral.”

Aderman said she thinks Colton is still “bound and determined” to ride a two-wheel bike.

When Bobbi was asked about that, she agreed. Colton has still been trying to ride a regular bicycle, Bobbi explaining that he had gotten up on a cousin’s two-wheel bike this past summer but “wiped out. But we know he’ll get up again.”

Colton works hard to succeed at things, Bobbi said. She noted that he has not being able to use his arms to swim like most people. So, during a family vacation in Florida he taught himself to swim in the resort swimming pool and taught himself by moving his body “like a dolphin,” she said.

Aderman talked excitedly about Colton, Brady and Stephanie getting their bikes and being able to now ride beyond the school day.

It wasn’t until the seventh grade that Stephanie rode a bike and that was because it was the first time Stephanie had access to an adaptive bicycle at school, Aderman said. Now Stephanie will benefit from getting the exercise that bike riding offers, Aderman added.

And Brady?

“There are only a couple things he’s successful at and bicycling is one of them,” Aderman said. “He loves it.”

This is a safe and effective way to strengthen the muscles in your back that run parallel to your spine. Start with just a small range of motion and make sure your feet are touching the floor.

Brace the muscles along spine with stretching exercises -- latimes.com

by BARBARA TRAININ BLANK For The Patriot-News
Sunday July 26, 2009, 12:00 AM

Vince Cassaro
Lori Rice of HealthSouth helps Army Maj. Neal Stasny, 43, of Lebanon, work out with a Wii at the rehabilitation center in Wormleysburg. Stasny, who is the deputy chief of staff of information management at Fort Indiantown Gap, is recovering from a stroke. Miriam Dreibelbis had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years. Knee surgery exacerbated the pain in her back, and the West Shore resident ended up in a wheelchair.

Seeking help at HealthSouth Hospitals and Outpatient Centers of Mechanicsburg, Dreibelbis found partial relief in "child's play."

HealthSouth is one of a growing number of outpatient and inpatient facilities that are incorporating Wiihabilitation into their physical therapy and rehabilitation regiments.

Wii (pronounced "wee") is an interactive Nintendo computer game that requires participants to move. A wireless remote connects the player to an on-screen digital icon, which mimics his or her movement in various sports and exercises.

Traditional games available on the Wii Sport software include bowling, tennis and golf. Another game attachment is the balance pad that goes with the Wii Fit software. Players stand on this pad to accomplish such things as walking a tightrope.

"Wii is part of a coordinated approach of physical, occupational and speech therapy at our outpatient facilities," says Laureen Martinelli, site coordinator for the HealthSouth center in Wormleysburg. "It has therapeutic benefits beyond 'straight' exercise. When patients come for outpatient therapy, they've already been through maybe months of conventional therapy. We need different tools to engage the brain, to use new muscles. The graphics of Wii are amazing."

The individuals who come for outpatient rehabilitation and physical therapy at the site include amputees and patients with brain injuries, strokes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries.

The Lebanon VA Medical Center has had Wii software for two years.

"Initially we introduced it to the long-term care, nursing units," says Jennifer Coy, supervisor of rehabilitation therapies at the VA. "Then we bought it for the rest of the units, including the physical therapy and acute behavioral health units."

According to Coy, Wii "has gone over very well" and brings a lot of benefits, especially for long-term care patients. "It's given them a sense of camaraderie and satisfies their need for competition," she says. "Many of the patients are games- and sports-oriented, especially as our demographic has gotten younger. Wii uses something current that's known to them."

Among the other benefits are that Wii can improve perception, balance and range of motion, the latter especially for physical therapy patients. It also enhances attention span.

One of the other advantages the VA has discovered, says Coy, is that Wii helps fight depression, even if the patient comes just to watch rather than actually participate.

"Wii Sport improves hand-eye coordination and gives the patient a little cardio workout," Martinelli says. "Wii Fit will indicate your body mass index."

For Dreibelbis, Wii was not only effective but "fun."

"It's a nice thing to do," she says. "Wii helps alleviate the tedium of physical therapy exercises and gives patients a sense of progress. Wii worked on my balance, which has always been a problem for me."

Dreibelbis also praised the psychological impact. "I realized I had more capabilities than I thought. It makes you forget about your inabilities," she says.

Like the VA, HealthSouth has found socialization an important part of Wii's appeal and effectiveness.

"It's true Wii means people watching a TV screen, but at least they're moving, and it's interactive," Martinelli says. "It's another tool to add to the therapists' bag of tricks."

Written by Rene Millman

If you thought that computer games were bad for children and turning us into a nation of couch potatoes then think again. The Wii Fit has helped one girl to walk again after years of paralysis.

Nicole Cahill, 10, of Enniscorthy in Wexford, Ireland managed to walk again after for years in a wheelchair.

She received treatment in a New York hospital, attending therapy courses for six days a week.

While she had conventional treatments, such as hydrotherapy, it was the Wii Fit that the girl took a shine to and which helped her back on her feet again.

"The Wii Fit has really helped. It's great because there are so many balancing and stretching exercises on it," Nocole's mum, Mairead told the Irish Herald. "I also do yoga with her at home, and she does exercises on a ball. The Wii has taken an awful lot of pressure off her as well."

The balance board has been helping the girl strengthen her legs and regain her balance. Nicole had spent six month at a New York rehabilitation centre after a virus she contracted left her in a wheelchair at the age of six.

By VICKIE BECK
As movement becomes more difficult, due to age or other issues, stretching becomes important just to maintain abilities. It may be difficult to imagine practicing yoga if you can't move particularly easily. But the peaceful, gentle stretching may actually be a good choice for people with disabilities.
The American Pain Foundation's Web site, www.painfoundation.org, has a six-week course called "Chair Yoga for Good Living" that helps those who must remain seated. While a yoga instructor is probably preferable, the course can be led by therapeutic recreation staff or nurses, peer advocates or volunteers. The course is described as a relaxation and breathing class, appropriate for those coping with chronic pain, stress, illness or disability. The six weekly themes are Being Positive, Being Mindful, Being in Community, Being Love, Being Compassion and Just Being Plain. Each hourlong class has 12 components, including sounds, hand gestures, breathing movement, relaxation and mediation.
Another resource is www.getfitwhereyousit.com, which offers a chair yoga fitness and exercise DVD for sale. The exercises are led by Lakshmi Voelker-Binder, a member of the Yoga Alliance and the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
In addition to those with conditions typically labeled as disabilities, Voelker-Binder recommends chair yoga for those coping with weight issues, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, chronic pain, breathing problems, multiple sclerosis and scoliosis.
Chair yoga is good for anyone who sits at a desk all day. Once a few particular movements are learned, including the lower back circle, facial and eye movements, wrist and ankle rotations and some deep-breathing methods, they can be done at the desk throughout the day and co-workers will be blissfully ignorant. Voelker-Binder suggests a yoga break might replace the more traditional coffee break and improve production as well as the office atmosphere.
That might be a little too hopeful for me, but even the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability in Chicago ( www.ncpad.org) agrees the postures, which they say can all be modified or adapted to a seated position and the breathing exercises, can be beneficial to people with disabilities. In addition to basic stretching, some of the movements can help stimulate internal organs and increase blood flow and circulation.
Some studies also indicate the breathing techniques alone can ease anxiety, several forms of stress and possibly depression.
That might be enough reason to give yoga a try. There are plenty of yoga studios in the area; why not give the nearest one a call and see if they have a chair yoga class? If they don't, why not suggest they start one? There certainly ought to be enough people who could benefit.



Find this article at: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/01/chair-yoga-may-help-those-who-stay-seated

According to Statistics Canada, back problems are among the most common chronic conditions in Canada. Four out of five adults will experience at least one episode of back pain at some time in their lives. The cause of back pain, however, is not always apparent. In fact, in approximately 85 to 90 per cent of individuals with back pain, no specific cause can be identified. Contributing factors include poor muscle tone, especially in the back and abdominal muscles, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, poor posture, and in particular, improper or heavy lifting.

You cannot build a house without a strong foundation, and you cannot build a strong body without a strong spine. If you have a bad back and you are not getting relief through other forms of treatment, my professional suggestion would be to start an exercise program called Pilates. The Pilates Method is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany. Pilates called his method Contrology, because he believed that his method uses the mind to control the muscles. The program focuses on the core postural muscles which help keep the body balanced and which are essential to providing support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and alignment of the spine, and aim to strengthen the deep torso muscles. Pilates is a very beginner-friendly fitness method. With the help of a teacher, clients perform strength, flexibility and range of motion exercises on specially designed equipment and/or mat classes. Class prices range from $12.00 per class to $60.00 per class for private instruction.

With over 15 years of experience in personal training and 10 years specializing in Pilates, I have seen countless clients with chronic back pain. With patience, persistence and the right teacher, I have also seen countless clients regain their life back through the practice of Pilates.

For more information, please contact Michelle Barker at pilates@telus.net or The Gym on Bowen. Michelle is a recent resident on Bowen Island and she loves it!

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2008) — University of Texas at Austin alumnus, Chris Stanford (MSEE '91), and Electrical & Computer Engineering undergraduates are working on making exercise fun for wheelchair users. For the last year, Stanford has been partnering with engineering seniors to test his idea for a virtual reality treadmill for the disabled.
"Not many people realize," says Stanford who has been confined to a wheelchair since 1988, "the special health risks faced by wheelchair users. Everything is more difficult, including eating right and getting enough exercise. Because of this, the incidence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease is several times the rate of the general population."
Stanford's solution, called TrekEase, approximates an arcade driving game. Users back a manual wheelchair into a frame, engage the flywheel for resistance, and start the driving software.
"When Chris approached me last year about using [TrekEase] as one of our senior design projects," says UT-ECE professor Jon Valvano "I was enthusiastic. It's an interesting engineering challenge. He came in with a mechanical system that had already been vetted for safety. The students added software and sensors that make the experience interactive."
Users can control speed and direction. A new group of students is continuing the project this semester. They plan to enhance the existing design so the system detects tilt making flight simulation possible and to work on the packaging so it will be affordable and easily reproducible.
"There is no way I could've done this by myself. I don't have the skill set," says Stanford." The students are amazing. They step up to every challenge."
Adapted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin, Electrical & Computer Engineering, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

What a great week in the gym this week, you may remember that I have started to use some of the machines last week well this week I progressed one step further and was allowed to try them with some weights behind them. I had to keep stopping as it was making my back a little sore, but once I rested enough in between each set the soreness went quickly and I was surprised how well I had done to even move them and my trunk rotation is improving a lot as well. Although I can’t twist using my mid trunk I can now actually rotate just above where I am fused so therefore allowing new movement that I have not experienced before. It is an odd feeling and I am sure I will get my head around it soon. I then went over to one of the therapy beds to do some one on one work with my physio, we worked on some exercises with the wobble cushion and a walking stick, this was so we could work on my dynamic control, although my core control is good my dynamic control needs some work doing to help me understand better all the new movements my body is undergoing and to make them stronger and more stable. I couldn’t believe how much I was able to stay upright on the cushion when doing the exercises with the stick, normally I would of slid to one side during the first one but I balanced quite well, during the exercises it became apparent that my left side needs a bit of work as its a bit weak in comparison to my right side which is my dominant side. I explained to her that I have just bought a Wii and she was really pleased and said it was one of the best things to come out on the market and thinks I will do very well with it, I have to say since I started with it I have really enjoyed it its exercise with the fun element fun because you don’t realise you are exercising.

A new study has proved the technique works best for relieving tension, reports Maria Fitzpatrick


If you're slouching over your newspaper, this should make you sit up straight: finally, we've found a cure for chronic back pain - and it doesn't involve painkillers, surgery or uncomfortable manipulation.

The Alexander Technique could potentially help thousands of people plagued by back pain Rather, the answer lies in a simple, yet powerful, therapy that's more than 100 years old.
Research published last week in the British Medical Journal revealed that the Alexander Technique - which works on releasing muscle tension to improve posture, alignment and movement - is significantly more effective at reducing chronic or recurrent back pain than typical GP-prescribed treatment.

Trials on 463 patients found that those who were prescribed 24 lessons in the Alexander Technique (along with exercise) experienced only three days of back pain in a month, compared with 11 days in patients who received six lessons, 14 days in the group who had regular massage, and 21 days in those given standard GP care (painkillers, often coupled with exercise).
The practice was originally devised in the 1890s and introduced in Britain in 1904 by Frederick Matthias Alexander, an Australian actor. Alexander had problems with a hoarse voice, which he attributed to nervous tension in his body before performing.

He believed that we "translate everything, whether physical, mental or spiritual, into muscular tension" and that the resulting poor posture compresses the neck and spine.
The technique he developed is, according to expert Joe Searby, "a set of simple, practical mental and physical skills, tailored to the individual", and it has garnered a large following worldwide, with Sting, Madonna and Sir Paul McCartney all reportedly believers. But until now, there was limited clinical evidence of its benefits.

However, this new large-scale study, funded by the Medical Research Council and the NHS, could bring relief to the millions of people - estimated at half the UK population - who suffer regularly from back pain. Fifteen per cent of those develop chronic problems, at a cost of £5 billion to the economy each year.

The technique aims to heighten awareness of the body, equipping patients to use it more efficiently, releasing tension, preventing injury and correcting existing musco-skeletal problems. It also can lead to improved circulation, pain relief, reduced anxiety and improved sleep.
"You're using conscious thought to free tension from the body and 'retrain' the musculature of your spine, neck and head," explains Searby, who runs a private practice in Oxfordshire, as well as working at the Constructive Teaching Centre in Holland Park.

But it's not an instant cure, rather a long-term adjustment. "We're used to expecting a 'quick fix' for pain," he adds. "But this technique is like learning the piano. People often feel some positive effects after one lesson - but keeping it up is crucial."

A 10-MINUTE TASTE OF THE TECHNIQUE
Joe Searby asked me to stand in front of my chair facing straight ahead, shoulders soft, and to think of my spine as a long spring. He explained that my head, weighing 10-11lb, was pushing down on that spring, compressing it.

Two-thirds of the head's weight is distributed in front of the ears, meaning that, naturally, it should move slightly forwards. But when the muscles of the neck are tense, they contract, drawing the head backwards and down, and pulling extra weight on to the spine.

Searby used his hands to straighten the small of my back and my shoulders, before putting his hands on either side of my neck. He asked me to become conscious of how it felt. I was aware of tension in my shoulders; my neck felt heavy and warm.

He told me to "order" my neck muscles not to do anything (this is different from relaxing: relaxing makes you naturally droop). As I told them not to tense, my neck felt even heavier.
Searby was guiding my posture so that I didn't sag; he then asked me to "send a message" to my head to project its weight forwards and upwards, as if releasing it away from my body and tell my neck muscles to lose their stiffness and "elongate".

He said my neck should be starting to feel more elastic and my shoulders to soften, and that this might feel uncomfortable because I was beginning to release long-held tension.

He asked me to imagine my body as a concertina: folding up easily, bending at the knees and at the hips. With one gentle movement from him, I was sitting in my chair. I have never been so graceful in my life. MF

• For more information, go to http://www.stat.org.uk/
• 'Alexander Technique' by Joe Searby (Duncan Baird) is available from Telegraph Books for £4.99 + 99p p&p. Call 0870 428 4115 or go to books.telegraph.co.uk

Trampoline gym finds fun in fitness
Sky Zone fitness programmer Anthony Woods gets some air during his full-body trampoline workout.


If you’re bouncing off the walls at Sky Zone in Rocklin, it’s a good thing. And it’s hard not to with more than 6,300 square feet of trampolines lining the floors and walls of the fitness, event and fun center.

The establishment is gearing up for its grand opening Friday with plans to introduce the Roseville and Rocklin area to “a brand new way to move,” which includes their inventive term “rouncing” meaning running and bouncing on trampolines connected together with foam-covered seams.

The orange, blue and black facility tucked off Industrial Avenue, emits energy. Visitors will find kids, adults, fitness-gurus and special needs children partaking in the rouncing, fitness classes, dodge ball tournaments and games.

“It’s not just for the kids, we appeal to anyone from the age of 1 to 81,” said Jeffrey Platt, manager of Sky Zone Recreation Center. “From couch potatoes to athletes.”

The findings of trampoline use have been positive since opening their first location in Las Vegas and second in St. Louis.

“We knew we had this incredible playing service and we had no idea what to do with it,” Platt said.

The idea was patented and turned into a trial and error investment with a surprising fitness component to trampoline bouncing.

“Everything that we do here is fun and the underlying theme is fitness,” Platt said.

Sky Zone holds 55-minute SkyRobics structured fitness classes that are low-impact and include medicine ball drills, abdominal work and of course, jumping in the air.

Anthony Woods is in charge of the fitness program at the Rocklin location for both kids and adults. “Just being on the court and seeing what it does for your body,” he said, is what got him hooked on trampoline exercise.

Woods said he’s played every sport and was amazed at the full-body trampoline workout.

“Everything you do up there depends on you. You can go at your own pace,” he said.

The higher the jumps, the more energy burned and calories lost (and a person can burn up to 1,000 calories in the class, Platt said). But it’s also fun.

“They feel clumsy, very shocked (at the intensity of the workout), but they’re having fun, they’re laughing,” Woods said.

Whether people come in for fitness or fun, Platt said everyone leaves with a new experience.

“When they experience it, all you see are smiling faces,” he said.

Another aspect of fitness is SkyTherapy 4Kids for children with disorders such as autism and cerebral palsy.

“They come and just bounce and love bouncing,” Platt said.

Sky Zone has developed relationships with programs geared toward children’s disorders and companies fighting against childhood obesity, which is shown through their partnership with the American Heart Association, Midwest affiliate. They hope to also make an impact in the community here as well, Platt said.

One of the reasons behind the Rocklin location was the Sacramento area’s status of being a “family-oriented, active city,” according to Platt.

And Sky Zone offers plenty of family-friendly activities from their SkyZone game, trying to jump through the suspended hoop with a ball or throwing the ball through the triangle above the hoop, to their SkyLimpics involving Olympic events such as tug-of-war, relays, basketball shots and soccer skills.

Safety is always a concern for parents and Sky Zone makes certain each person is equipped with shoes with ankle support and soles with tire-like grips that also keep the court clean, Platt said.

“Safety has always been our No. 1,” said Jeffrey’s father Richard Platt, who is the managing partner for Sky Zone Recreation Center.

All managers are CPR-certified and the courts are monitored at all times by trained court monitors. Everyone signs a liability form and safety videos run on many of their 15 plasma-screen television screens throughout the facility.

Jeffrey said some of the most common accidents with trampoline use is from falling off or through the bottom and the netting acts as just that, a safety net. Netting is above the trampoline walls and below the floor.

With the combination of safety, fitness and fun, it makes sense why this has been popular in the other two locations and there’s a theory Jeffrey has as to why the idea has caught on for kids and adults alike.

“Who doesn’t like to be free from earth’s gravity?” he said. “It’s the only time you can feel like Superman. And for adults, it makes them feel like a kid again.”

Open sessions for bouncing at Sky Zone start every half-hour for $9 an hour, but reservations are recommended, especially for groups.

For information on corporate events, birthday parties, fitness class schedules and dodge ball tournaments, go to www.skyzonesports.com.

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