Children love it and they all want one at home: we are talking about the trampoline here. But this hobby can be dangerous and cause serious injuries.
In gardens, in fairgrounds, in public parks: trampolines are everywhere and they delight young and old. However, parents should be aware of the risk of injury associated with the use of this play device because a trampoline accident happens quickly, and it can be extremely painful.
According to a French study carried out between 2008 and 2016, trampoline accidents have multiplied by 10 in eight years with an overrepresentation of children aged 5 to 9 years. Something to worry specialists who want to warn parents.
Frequent and very painful accidents
A recent international survey was released in the British Medical Journal : in the United States, the trampoline is the source of nearly 100,000 visits by children to the emergency room each year, including 3,100 hospitalizations. Furthermore, a French study released this year showed that in 16% of cases, the lesions are severe and require surgery under general anesthesia.
Regarding the type of accident, Public Health France points to a major risk of contusion (30%), sprain (29%) and fracture (25%). A few isolated accidents can be dramatic and lead to severe and permanent disability, or even death in the event of serious head trauma. According to the results, the risk would be increased in trampoline parks, due in particular to the increased recklessness of children in these specialized centers where the tendency to perform acrobatic tricks would be increased.
The trampoline, an activity that must be supervised
Are pointed out certain imperative rules often forgotten such as: only one child at a time, no dangerous figure, always under the supervision of an adult. In the eyes of some pediatricians, the activity should be prohibited for children under 6 years old. In a series of tweets, a doctor warns: “we do not put a baby who can barely walk or even a 3 year old child on a trampoline, it is not a toy like the others”.
Given the rapid global expansion of the commercial trampoline industry over the past decade, increasing injury rates and cost to healthcare systems, the development and implementation of safety standards are urgent.