Health and Fitness

Emergency Room Visits Jump As Trampoline Parks Gain In Popularity


Elk Grove Village, IL—(ENEWSPF)—August 2, 2016.  Trampoline parks have become increasingly popular in recent years, leading to a soaring number of emergency room visits for injuries sustained at these recreational venues, according to a new study in the September 2016 Pediatrics. The study, “Trampoline Park and HomeTrampoline Injuries” (published online Aug.  1) found that U.S. emergency room visits for park-related injuries rose to 6,932 in 2014, up from 581 in 2010.

Patients injured at trampoline parks were more likely to be males, average age 13, and their injuries frequently involved lower extremity sprains and fractures.  Serious injuries included open fractures and spinal cord injuries. While less likely to sustain head injuries than those injured on home trampolines, patients injured at trampoline parks showed higher odds of hospital admission, according to the research. Study authors call for additional investigation and strategies to prevent injury at trampoline parks, where safety guidelines vary from park to park. While most trampoline injuries occur at home – with an average of 91,750 emergency room visits per year from 2010 to 2014 – those numbers did not vary over the study period as opposed to the rise in park-related injuries. In 2011, about 35 to 40 trampoline parks existed in the United States, as compared with 280 in 2014, according to the International Association of Trampoline Parks. The association estimates that five or six new parks open every month.

An American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on trampoline safety recommends against children’s recreational trampoline use, but states that if they are used, safety measures should include constant adult supervision, adequate protective padding, one jumper per trampoline at time, and avoidance of flips/somersaults.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 66,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.

Source: http://www.aap.org

 

 


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