Trampoline Injuries

The first version of the trampoline was invented by Eskimo groups in the Pacific Northwest, to help them search for game. The person launched into the air by this device could inspect a much larger area of land or ice for game than what would be possible from the ground. The recreational trampoline as we know it today was only invented in the 1930s. Four formulas are needed to understand the physics of trampolines. A person with a larger mass will as such extend the springs of the trampoline more and increase the total energy at play. However, because of that larger mass, gravity will pull this person down more compared to a person weighing less. There are several known and described mechanisms of injury for trampoline injuries, but one mechanism seems to be recurring over and over again: the failed flip or somersault. The failed flip usually leads to an impact on the cervical spine because the head reaches the trampoline first. In 1998, 6500 pediatric cervical spine injuries were reported in the United States, of which 0.5% ended in death or permanent neurological damage. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued their first policy paper in 1977 warning for the dangers of recreational use of trampolines and its use during physical education classes. The initial policy paper came to be, after striking numbers surfacing of cervical spine injuries, quadriplegia and even death due to trampolines. Despite the success of the AAP-policy statement in 1977 to completely ban the use of trampolines, new bans are not on the radar of clinicians and public health specialists. The preferred approach for most countries in the new millennium seems to be regulation.