LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP - THE NUMBER of TRAMPOLINE PARK INJURIES HAS JUMPED!!

A study published in Pediatrics, September 2016 issue shows:
*Trampoline Park Related Injuries requiring Emergency Department visits jumped from 581 visits in 2010 to 6,932 in 2014. 
*Trampoline Park Related Injuries resulted in more hospital admissions when compared with Home Trampoline Injuries during this time.
*Home Trampoline Injuries still occurred at the same rate during this time period - 91,750 injuries per year!
*Trampoline Park Injuries are most commonly sprains and fractures of the lower extremities. Children less than 6 years of age more often sustained fractures than sprains when they injured their legs.
*Home Trampoline Injuries include a greater number of upper extremity and head injuries because of falling off the trampoline.

In 2011, about 35 to 40 trampoline parks existed in the United States, as compared with 280 in 2014. The International Association of Trampoline Parks estimates that five or six new parks open every month. As trampoline parks increase in popularity, injuries are increasing accordingly. The safety rules and regulations are not the same at each park. Some parks allow flips while others don't. Some parks allow more than one child jumping at a time while others limit it to one child. Some parks reserve areas for smaller children, others don't. When there is a group on a trampoline, the smallest child is most likely the one that is injured.

An AAP 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.