A trampoline accident can be “extremely painful, to the point of giving kids morphine.” Concerned about the increase in pediatric fractures linked to these facilities, Nicolas Winter is sounding the alarm. This pediatric emergency doctor at Valenciennes hospital in the north warns that certain injuries may require an operation and pinning. “So it’s a minimum of six weeks in plaster.”
In a series of tweets he warned and reminded – spokes of young patients in support – that trampolines were “one of the first providers of fractures” in his services. Installations whose risks, according to him, are still too often minimized, even ignored.
“It’s a public health message,” he adds. “You don’t put a baby who can barely walk or even a 3-year-old on a trampoline, it’s not a toy like the others.”
“dramatic” accidents
Trampoline accidents are becoming more frequent: According to a French study conducted between 2008 and 2016, have increased tenfold in eight years. Public Health France lists 4,154 cases in minors, between 2004 and 2014, with an overrepresentation of children aged 5 to 9 years.
The danger affects both trampolines installed in gardens and in game rooms. Though, according to another study, Accidents are more serious when they happen at a trampoline park, with fractures two to three times more frequent than at home.
“Accidents are numerous and sometimes serious, leading to excessive drug use, especially in the emergency room and in pediatric surgery departments,” Raphaël Vialle, head of the department of orthopedic and reconstructive surgery for children at the Armand Trousseau Hospital in Paris.
“Some isolated accidents can be especially dramatic and cause serious and permanent disability or even death in the case of severe head trauma,” adds the doctor.
“Butter Lump” Fractures
A French study, published this year, showed that in 16% of cases, the injuries are serious and require surgery under general anesthesia.
“Children, propelled upwards, lose their balance”, analyzes the doctor Nicolás Winter. “They put their hands out to grab and fall back onto the trampoline membrane.”
“That’s how many times we end up with ‘bump of butter’ fractures (a bone that twists or crushes on itself, the most common fracture in children, editor’s note) of both wrists,” the ER doctor continues. “But I’ve also seen fractures of the tibia or femur, it’s even more painful.”
Forbidden for children under 6?
Andreas Werner, president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (Afpa), recalls certain imperative safety rules for BFMTV.com: only one child on the trampoline, always under adult supervision, to avoid any jump or dangerous figure.
“Nobody would think of leaving a child alone in a pool. Well, it’s the same thing. An adult, they can bump into each other. And with the rebound, the child risks being ejected.”
But “even respecting the safety instructions, it is a much more dangerous sporting activity than any other sport,” he is outraged for BFMTV.com. “An example: the springs are rarely protected, the child can fall on them and hurt himself even more.” For him, trampolines should be purely and simply prohibited for children under 6 years of age.
Source: BFM TV
