SATURDAY, Aug. 24, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- Your child may think she's having the time of her life bouncing on that trampoline, but she could end up jumping straight into the emergency room.
Home trampoline sales have surged in recent years to more than half a million each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). But with increased sales come increased injuries.
"There's been a huge, huge, huge rise in purchases," says Dr. Robert Gotlin, director of sports and spine rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. "The number of injuries is skyrocketing because usage is also skyrocketing."
Almost 100,000 injuries related to trampoline use were treated at emergency rooms last year, according to the CPSC. The vast majority were garden-variety strains and sprains, but there were also fractures and -- every parent's nightmare -- head injuries. In fact, 10 percent involved the head, including concussions and contusions. The vast majority of the injuries involved kids between 5 and 14 years old.
There are even one or two fatalities each year, although these are rare.
"People think it's a great exercise and a fun tool, but of all the fun things we have for kids -- baseball, basketball, soccer -- a trampoline probably carries the highest potential risk," says Gotlin, who has three children and no trampoline.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has gone so far as to say that parents should never purchase a home trampoline or allow their children to use one.
Other experts stop short of such a blanket prohibition, but they do counsel strict guidelines. Follow these tips compiled by the American Academies of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgeons and the CPSC, and the risk of injury to your child could be greatly reduced:
- Only allow one child on the trampoline at a time. Medical experts estimate that more than half the injuries occur when at least two people are on the trampoline at the same time. Enforcing a one-at-a-time rule will greatly reduce the chances of a collision. It will also reduce the risk of fracture, which can happen when one child is going down while another is going up. The child on his way down runs the risk of jamming his knee because the trampoline is going in the opposite direction. "You're going against your own velocity," Gotlin says.
- Make sure your child knows how to land correctly. This means bending the knees as the feet hit the trampoline, as opposed to keeping the legs outstretched and locked.
- Always have adult supervision when children are playing on a trampoline. "I liken a trampoline to a pool," Gotlin says. "People realize that they shouldn't let a child into the pool unattended." It's the same with a trampoline.
- Don't allow stunts on the trampoline. "The person who does somersaults is the person who's a trained gymnast," Gotlin says. Everyone else should just jump up and down -- alone.
- Make sure the trampoline has shock-absorbing padding that completely covers the springs, hooks and frame. If the trampoline isn't padded, a child can easily bang and hurt her head or another part of the body on an unforgiving surface.
- Add a safety net. "This isn't going to prevent all injuries but a quarter or more injuries result from a kid falling off the trampoline, and the net will help that," Gotlin says.
- Make sure the trampoline is on a level surface.
- Put shock-absorbent material on the ground around the perimeter of the trampoline. Also, make sure the ground underneath the trampoline and around it is clear of rocks and other hard debris. The ground should be sand or another soft substance, in case a child falls off.
- Position the trampoline in a central, open area, not in a corner near a fence. This way, if a child falls off, he will have a better chance of escaping injury.
- Do not use a ladder with the trampoline, advises the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Small children can get easy access to the equipment when there's no adult around. No child under the age of six should use a regular-size trampoline.
- Don't allow night-time jumping. It's even easier to get hurt when you can't see what you're doing.
What To Do
For more information on trampoline safety, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the CDC, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons or the American Academy of Pediatrics.
