Injuries At Trampoline Parks
Trampoline parks are a great source of entertainment and exercise for everyone in the family. A fun filled day of trampolining can be both exhilarating and a great source of cardio. But all the enjoyment could come with the burden of an emergency room visit if we are not careful! Below, we’ll look at some of the most common injuries sustained at trampoline parks so you can be more wary the next time you plan a weekend of trampolining.
Soft Tissue Sprains
These injuries often occur in older children and adults where a muscle, ligament or tendon involved have been damaged. This can happen as a result of a strain from repeated jumping or a sprain or twisting of the structures involved, causing great discomfort.
Serious vertebral injuries
In some unfortunate instances, a bad landing on the head or neck or even off the trampoline and onto the floor can cause egregious harm. There have been reports of individuals cracking cervical vertebrae, which has led to paralysis and in some instances death.
Fractures
Younger children have been found to be more susceptible to sustaining a bone fracture at trampoline parks. These injuries are often remedied by either wearing a cast or in more serious instants, surgical intervention.
‘Trampoline fractures’
Fracture injuries associated with trampolines are so common they have been dubbed ‘trampoline fractures.’ This fracture occurs in the tibia, one of the two bones in the lower limb. While it is a very common type of fracture and it can be treated surgically, it is important to adequately treat it. Otherwise, a tibial fracture could result in future growth problems or potential deformities.
While safety measures are put in place by trampoline parks, their sheer design flaw could be causing these injuries. Trampolines are arranged interconnected together and users often land either on the hard padding separating individual trampoline frames or on the floor. This is exacerbated when adults, older and younger children, all trampoline at the same time. Differences in height and weight of trampoliners in could cause loss of balance and which could lead to landing in an awkward position and causing injury.
Another common cause is ‘double-bouncing’ where one person’s jump affects the rebound of another.
Most importantly, trampoline injuries occur as a result of more lax safety guidelines. Such parks are often full of fun seekers but not enough emphasis is placed on the importance of safety and how the trampolines should be used. In fact, for this reason alone, trampoline parks may sometimes be more dangerous than trampolining in your own house!
So remember, avoid collisions and injuries by practicing extra caution when at a trampoline park and be sure to maintain a healthy breadth of space between yourself and other jumpers at all times.
And always remember to speak with your doctor if you get injured or pain from a previous injury persists.