Neurological disorders are linked to various problems, including but not limited to movement impairments, balance, fear of falls, reduced exercise tolerance, loss of muscle strength, reduced functional independence, sedentary behaviour and reduced quality of life. These impairments can lead to physical deconditioning, functional dependency and extreme disability if left unmanaged, creating the need for prompt treatment. Rebound exercise is an effective and safe form of aerobic exercise that has been successfully used in some populations. It can be included in rehabilitating people with neurological disorders for its beneficial effects on humans and minimal stress on the heart and joints. Its fun-giving experience makes it easier to engage regularly compared to traditional exercise tools that may feel like a task. It is also more affordable and less time-consuming than other standard modalities. The few available studies on rebound exercise in neurological disorders were mostly in inpatients, and evidence is scarce on the use of rebound exercise in community-dwelling individuals with neurological disorders. It is thus necessary to investigate its use in the community context as well as the minimal effective dosage of the intervention. This study will investigate the frequency of rebound exercise necessary to effect changes in physiological and functional outcomes such as heart rate, blood pressure, physical activity level, walking speed, risk of falls, cognitive function and quality of life. The enrolled participants will undergo 12 weeks of rebound exercise training once or twice weekly, depending on their frequency choice.~Ethical approval has been sought and obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Buckinghamshire New University. Eligible volunteer participants will be asked to sign the informed consent after the study has been explained to them. They will be assured of data confidentiality by anonymising their information and will also be informed of their right to withdraw at any point.
This study will be a pretest-posttest interventional trial investigating the use of rebound exercise in community-dwelling individuals with neurological disorders.