Be cautious while on the Trampoline

According to experts approximately 6,000 plus trampolining fractures were seen in 2002. Therefore there is a strong need for new safety guidelines are needed to stem the rise in trampoline-related injuries.

Injury Prevention journal in a study has found a "worrying trend" in the number of childhood fractures linked to trampoline use in the home.

The Royal Berkshire in Reading was identified as one hospital that treated eight children for trampolining-related fractures in two summer months in 2003.

In 2001 just one child was treated for a trampoline-related fracture at the Royal Berkshire, but in 2003 trampoline-related breaks accounted for more than one in 10 childhood fractures.

This reflects earlier research by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) which found that 11,500 people in the UK went to hospital after a trampoline-related accident in 2002 - an increase of more than 50% over a five-year period.

The team behind the latest research said: "We have identified a worrying trend in the incidence of paediatric fractures related to trampolining and our statistics are mirrored by both Rospa and international findings."

Few guidelines laid down by them are :-

1. Only allowing one person on a trampoline at one time.

2. Children should be supervised

3. Exposed metalwork should be padded

4. Somersaults and complex manoeuvres should be discouraged or made safer by digging the trampoline into a pit at ground level

5. Padding should be put on the ground or extra circumferential netting added

The research also reflected US research which found a 98% increase in people with trampoline-related injuries arriving at A&E departments.

According to Roger Vincent, of RoSPA: "Trampolines can now be bought relatively cheaply from such places as garden centres and DIY stores. Problems can arise because the trampoline may be too big to use safely in a garden when the buyer gets it home - it may have to be placed too close to fences, trees or hard surfaces such as patios in a small garden - or because people do not follow the basic safety rules. Approximately 75% of injuries occur when more than one person is on the trampoline. The person weighing less is five times more likely to be injured and children under six years old are particularly vulnerable to injury."