The Effect of Trampolining on Incontinence and Bone Density

Uncontrolled Intervention Trial: PILOT Pre and Post Tests (Completed the week prior and the week post-intervention) First, the questionnaires will be given to the participant (incontinence diagnosis, incontinence severity, physical activity questionnaire, diet questionnaire). Then measures of body composition (mass, muscle mass, fat mass) and fitness (V02max) will be taken. Body composition will then be assessed using a bio-impedance scanner. This assesses muscle mass and fat mass by sending an electrical signal through the body. The procedure is painless and non-invasive and takes less than 5 minutes. V02max will be assessed by using a variant of the Bruce protocol (athlete-led) while wearing a gas analyser which collects samples of the participant’s breath. The participant will begin at a walking pace (approx. 8km/hr). At the top of every minute, the participant will be asked if they’re comfortable with the speed being increased (by 1km/hr). The speed will be increased every minute until the participant indicates they are no longer comfortable with the speed increasing. At this stage, the gradient of the treadmill will be increased by 1% every minute. The participant can choose to stop at any time, the test will also be stopped if the participant reaches V02max. The test takes anywhere from 5-15 minutes, depending on the fitness level of the participant. The sessions for the DXA scan and perineometry will be booked that same day at a time convenient to the participant, but prior to the beginning of the intervention. A DXA (dual x-ray absorptiometry) scan is a test to assess bone density. It generally takes 10-20 minutes and is painless. The participant will be asked to lie on an open table and try to stay still for the duration of the scan. This will be completed at Pacific Radiology, Riccarton, Christchurch. Perineometry involves a perineometer being inserted into the participant’s vagina. The participant will then be asked to contract their pelvic floor as hard as possible and maintain that contraction for ten seconds. This will be repeated three times with the peak contraction measured. This procedure will be performed by a registered physiotherapist at Freedom Health, Papanui, Christchurch. Each of these tests will be repeated at the completion of the intervention. All data collected from these measures will only be available to either the primary investigator or the health professional who collected the data. Once collected all data will be stored anonymously on private, password-protected servers. Intervention A Springfree trampoline will be delivered to the participant’s house and assembled. At a time convenient to the participant, the lead researcher will travel to the participant’s house to go through the intervention procedure, with the participant, to ensure the protocol is being performed correctly. The intervention procedure involves bouncing on the trampoline a minimum of three times per week, up to a maximum of five times per week, for 100 bounces at the maximum height the participant is capable of while remaining continent. This trampoline will be TGOMA-enabled. TGOMA (Take Gaming Outside and Make it Active) is a product designed by Springfree, which is a trampoline with accelerometers built into the trampolining mat. These accelerometers can calculate the time of flight of a person bouncing on the trampoline and from this data can work out the bounce height and track the number of bounces. An application on TGOMA called “Powerpath” will be utilised for the intervention. Powerpath tracks the participant’s bounce height for each bouncing session. It then shows the participant’s previous best bounce and displays a goal height for the participant to aim to beat. This acts to encourage the participant to constantly try to improve. Each bounce session will be monitored using the TGOMA software, where the number of bounces and total bounce height will be measured. Adherence to the protocol is also recorded using TGOMA data, as each session is recorded separately.