Trampoline-Related Injuries Doubled in Last Ten Years

Jenny Albano

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A new study, published in Academy Emergency Medicine, found that the number of children visiting emergency rooms because of trampoline injuries has more than doubled over the last ten years.

From 2002 to 2006 there were over half a million visits to the ER, but from 1990 to 1995 there were only around a quarter-million accidents that sent children to the hospital. When Dr. James G. Linakis of Brown Medical School and his colleagues looked into data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, they found a 113% increase in trampoline injuries between these two time periods.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended that pediatricians advise parents not to buy trampolines for home use. Around 95% of trampoline-related injuries occur on home trampolines.

Linakis and his colleagues believe the remarkable jump in injuries is due to the increased availability of home trampolines. These trampolines are now inexpensive and can be found in stores all over the country. Around 1.2 million new trampolines were purchased in 2004.

While most injuries from trampolines include fractures, soft tissues, and bumps and bruises, these wounds were serious enough to send children to the emergency room. Since most parents are not able to supervise children to the extent that they need to be supervised on trampolines, it is the recommendation of Linakis that children should never use home trampolines.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.