Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are the first to analyze trampoline fracture patterns in a large population over an extended period of time, providing alarming new data about the rate of injury, especially in children. From 2002 to 2011, an estimated 288,876 people were sent to hospital emergency rooms with broken bones from trampoline accidents. If all injuries are accessed, that number climbs to more than 1 million.
Average age for total injuries was about 9, but the average age for axial skeleton injuries was substantially higher at 16.6 years old. Dr. Loder says this differential accounts to the higher jumping of older children “with more force” and the fact that teenages are risk takers. “Younger kids may not understand potential outcomes of their actions, but they’re not so much risk takers. Teenagers, they’ll just push the limit,” he said.
Because data was only collected from hospitals, this number is significantly underestimated because some patients likely went to urgent care centers or family physicians for treatments. Costs, estimated at around $1 billion for emergency room bills, are also underestimated, because it does not include costs for any non-emergency room care such as surgery or subsequent physical therapy for injuries.