1dayatatime
05-16-2005, 04:40 PM
POSTED: 2:38 pm EDT May 16, 2005
Annual injuries from backyard trampolines have nearly doubled in the past decade, according to a study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital.
An average of almost 75,000 children were seen in emergency rooms each year during 2001 and 2002. Similar stuides in the early and mid-1990s found about half as many injuries.
The severity of the injuries increased as well.
"Parents so far have not gotten the message that trampolines should not be used in the home environment. They should be used in very structured, well-monitored environments, with proper supervision. Frankly, that supervision probably doesn't and can't happen at home," said James G. Linakis, an ER doctor at Hasbro Children's Hospital
Researchers studied a sample of U.S. hospitals from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for 2001 and 2002. They compared the data to a previous study that examined trampoline injuries from 1990 to 1995.
More Serious Injuries
Researchers found that injuries serious enough to require hospitalization increased dramatically, rising from 1,400 annually in the first study to 2,128 annually in the current study.
In both studies, fractures or dislocations remained the predominant reason for hospitalization. However, by 2002, emergency rooms were seeing an increase in cuts in children who needed to be hospitalized.
Annual injuries from backyard trampolines have nearly doubled in the past decade, according to a study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital.
An average of almost 75,000 children were seen in emergency rooms each year during 2001 and 2002. Similar stuides in the early and mid-1990s found about half as many injuries.
The severity of the injuries increased as well.
"Parents so far have not gotten the message that trampolines should not be used in the home environment. They should be used in very structured, well-monitored environments, with proper supervision. Frankly, that supervision probably doesn't and can't happen at home," said James G. Linakis, an ER doctor at Hasbro Children's Hospital
Researchers studied a sample of U.S. hospitals from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for 2001 and 2002. They compared the data to a previous study that examined trampoline injuries from 1990 to 1995.
More Serious Injuries
Researchers found that injuries serious enough to require hospitalization increased dramatically, rising from 1,400 annually in the first study to 2,128 annually in the current study.
In both studies, fractures or dislocations remained the predominant reason for hospitalization. However, by 2002, emergency rooms were seeing an increase in cuts in children who needed to be hospitalized.