According to a new study, injuries at trampoline parks in the US are increasing at an alarming rate.
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In addition, kids who were injured at trampoline parks were more likely to go to the hospital for their injuries than those who were injured while using trampolines at home, the researchers found. This floor, though, can increase the risk of other injuries if a person lands between two trampolines, she said.
Recent research discovered that trips to the emergency room caused by injuries at trampoline parks have gone up from just short of 600 in 2010 to nearly 7,000 in 2014 – a twelve-fold increase.
Ray Pitetti, associate chief of the division of pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, said the study’s data coincide with injuries he sees in the emergency department among patrons of trampoline parks: sprains or strains, but also broken arms and legs and concussions.
So what’s behind this massive leap?
Trampoline parks have become increasingly popular in the United States. In 2015, there were a total of 460 trampoline parks in North America and 220 across the globe.
That last one is because many studies have shown that injuries occur most often when multiple people are using the trampoline at the same time – and the smallest participants are far more likely to sustain injuries than bigger peers.
The study also found that the majority of trampoline-related accidents occur at home – rather than at a park – and these accidents did not increase significantly from 2010 to 2014, nor did overall trampoline injuries.
This video includes clips from David Zavadzki / CC BY 3.0, Ohio Development Services Agency and W2SPlays / CC BY 3.0 and an image from Getty Images.
Pitetti, the Children’s Hospital physician, said he does allow his children to go to the parks, and he encouraged parents to supervise young jumpers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against trampoline use for all children but says if children do use them, they should not do flips or have more than one jumper at a time on a trampoline. But compared with activities like volleyball (16.5) and hockey (16), trampoline jumping appears more unsafe.
“Trampoline parks should create and enforce rules and regulations that would prevent trampoline-related injuries”, she said. She had to set the fracture herself with the ice scraper from her auto. During those years, the number of parks multiplied from 25 to 350 nationwide.
She also noted that the study could not accurately determine the likelihood of someone getting injured at a trampoline park, saying that it’s common knowledge that any kind of trampoline is relatively risky for kids. In a statement, the group said that safety “is always a priority” and that it advocates supervision and protective padding.
Still, that data is of limited use because it’s hard to measure how much exposure kids are getting to each sport. If your children go, “you should be cautious”, she says. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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And make sure to be careful yourself, if you decide to take a bounce – 19 percent of trampoline park injuries were in adults.
