It is fair to say that most parents throughout the Pittsburgh area will do whatever is necessary to keep their children safe. Despite this desire, many parents may not be aware that an activity they allow their children to participate in for fun is in fact putting their offspring in a dangerous situation. The dangerous activity that could result in children sustaining personal injuries of varying degrees is jumping on a trampoline.

There are two main ways in which someone of any age is injured while using the trampoline. The first is by either falling off the piece of equipment or accidentally jumping off. The other is injuries that individuals suffer when they fall the wrong way or collide with someone else on the trampoline. These injuries are often preceded by an individual attempting to do a trick of some sort like a flip.

The type and extent of injuries that someone could suffer from using a trampoline is long and includes:

• Fractures
• Dislocations
• Sprains and strains
• Bruises
• Head and spinal injuries

According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, 3,100 were injured in 2009 for injuries sustained while using a trampoline, in total, close to 98,000 injuries were suffered. Believe it or not, these numbers are actually much lower than they were five years prior.

In an effort to try to reduce the number of injuries young people suffer from this, the American Academy of Pediatrics is urging pediatricians to provide caution to parents of children when it comes to the use of trampolines. Whether this will have any effect remains to be seen.

Source: Health Day, “Doctors to Parents: No Trampolines,” Denise Mann, Sept. 24, 2012