New research has suggested that half of all A&E admissions for activity-related injuries among children under 14 are due to trampolining. The sport has been described as 'potentially dangerous' after BMJ’s Injury Prevention journal analysed 1.4 million trampolining injuries from across the globe. The activity was found to account for a high proportion of broken bones in children, reported The Times.
The report reads: "Children using trampoline centres are more likely to suffer severe trauma and require surgical intervention than children using home trampolines." According to an analysis of 71 patients admitted to A&E in Surrey, the costs the NHS £905 to treat a child admitted for trampoline-related injuries, Mirror reports.
Injuries sustained on trampolines in public parks tended to be more severe, according to researchers. And said this was because “the higher tensile strength used in commercial trampoline centres may produce a harder bounce”, resulting in more pressure being put on bones during bouncing.
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Young people visiting trampoline parks were twice as likely to sustain broken bones or sprains and muscle strains as opposed to those using trampolines at home. Surgical intervention was also nearly twice as likely for those who sustained breakages at a trampoline centre.
Experts also said that cuts, concussions and arm injuries were more common on trampolines at home compared to trampoline parks, chalking the difference up to the safety features found at trampoline parks including padded walls.
The unique injury trend also appeared to be a global phenomenon, with the BMJ study finding that trampolining accounts for nearly 100,000 child emergency room visits per year in the US. Similarly, in Australia trampoline-related injuries were the reason for 1,500 children being admitted to hospital every year between 2002 and 2011.
