Trampoline-related injuries in children have more than doubled over the past decade, according to a new study from researchers at Rhode Island Hospital.
An earlier study by the hospital showed that 75,000 children on average nationwide were treated at emergency rooms annually for trampoline injuries. The new, more comprehensive study, however, found that 531,378 children visited hospital emergency rooms for trampoline-related injuries between 2000 and 2005, an average of 88,563 visits per year.
Ninety-five percent of the injuries occurred on home trampolines, according to the findings, which were published in the June issue of Academic Emergency Medicine and presented at the recent American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting.
The study’s researchers believe the findings are startling enough to call on parents to avoid purchasing trampolines for their children.
“Our first study on this subject gave us reason for concern, and the need to send a warning to parents,” said James Linakis, a pediatric emergency physician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, in a news release. “Clearly this new study indicates even higher rates of injury than first thought.”
The study compared the data from 2000 through 2005 to a study from 1990 through 1995 when there was a total of 41,600 emergency room visits annually.
There were 1.2 million new trampoline sales in 2004, according to the study, which found that children ages 5 to 12 were most likely to suffer injuries on the trampolines. The majority of injuries, 71 percent, involved the extremities. The most common injuries (256,509) involved soft tissue, followed by fractures and dislocations at 168,402 injuries.
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