Trampoline injuries result in approximately 100,000 visits to the emergency department every year. While most trampoline injuries occure on home trampolines, the growing popularity of indoor trampoline parks has led to a dramatic rise of injuries occurring specifically at these locations. In 2014, 6,932 people visited the emergency room after being injured at a trampoline park compared to 581 in 2010. A national study documenting this problem was recently published in Pediatrics. The study is Co-Authored by Connecticut Children’s Medical Center emergency physicians Steven Rogers, MD, and Jesse Sturm, MD, and pediatric emergency medicine fellow Kathryn Kasmire, MD.
Trampoline Parks are indoor parks with wall to wall trampolines. Despite the risk of injury, these parks are very popular with families and new parks are continuing to open all over the country. Statistics indicate that there are now around 500 trampoline parks open in the U.S. compared to 40 in 2011.
Children injured at trampoline parks are a little bit older than children injured on home trampolines with the most injuries reported for 13 year old males. Sprains and fractures are the most common injuries reported for both trampoline parks and home trampolines. Park visitors most often suffer extremity injuries (mostly dislocations) while home trampoline users tend to more often suffer head injuries. Park trampoline injuries more often required a hospital admission than home trampoline injuries. Fractures and spinal cord injuries often being the reason for admission.