A recent IU School of Medicine survey found that home trampoline accidents accounted for nearly 289,000 emergency room visits nationwide for broken bones between 2002 and 2011.
The number rises to more than 1 million visits when factoring in all accidents, not just fractures.
Kathy Miley is a nurse practitioner in the emergency room at Margaret Mary Health. She also spends quite a bit of time traveling for work and says it is an issue she has seen firsthand.
She said, “We are definitely seeing them. Not so much here in Batesville, but I see them a lot.”
Miley estimated about one trampoline-related emergency room visit in Batesville per week and it is usually a broken bone, sprain or dislocation.
“Usually if they fall on the trampoline it is going to be a fracture. Most of the time when they come in the ER and they have had a trampoline accident something is broke, either a wrist or a leg or something,” Miley said.
She recalled a trampoline accident that had a tragic result. While working in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a juvenile got his head stuck between springs and fractured his neck and died.
Most trampoline accidents occur when multiple people are jumping on the mat, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Health officials advise only one child should be allowed on the trampoline at a given time, limiting kids from being tossed around.
Some other tips offered include verifying the trampoline is on level ground, use a safety net, and institute adult supervision.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons say trampoline use should be off limits to children younger than age 6.
