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| 05.06.08 Jump to It |
5 June 2008
Jump to It
The Southern Area Accident Prevention Liaison Group (SAAPLG) is urging people to be cautious when using home trampolines this summer.
A survey conducted by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust within its Accident and Emergency Departments and Minor Injury Units shows that there were 73 injuries recorded in a four week period because of trampoline accidents. 43 of these were amongst children under 10 years of age.
Mr Seamus O’Reilly, Consultant in Accident and Emergency at Craigavon Area Hospital says: “Most injuries occurred when people landed improperly while jumping or doing stunts on the trampoline or when they fell or jumped off. Colliding with another person is also another common cause of injury. Injuries range from the minor such as bruising, scrapes, cuts or strains to the more serious like broken bones, head and neck injuries and many occurred even where a safety net was present.”
Dr Vinod Tohani, Chair of SAAPLG added: “Trampolining can be good exercise and great fun but we stress the need for parents to supervise their children, allowing only one person to use the trampoline at a time to avoid collision. Safety enclosures or nets will prevent accidental falls from the trampoline but other accidents can still occur. Domestic trampolines are not designed for stunts, only trained professionals should try somersaults or flips on professional trampolines. We hope that by reinforcing safety messages these injuries will be reduced.”
Tips on safe trampolining include:
• Always use a safety net to prevent falls off the trampoline.
• Always use pads to prevent injuries on the trampoline.
• Use safely and bounce on the middle of the trampoline.
• Step on and off the trampoline, never jump.
• Only allow one child at a time to use the trampoline.
• Supervise at all times and ensure that children have rest periods.
The Southern Health and Social Care Trust has developed a leaflet ‘Jump to it’ to guide parents on trampoline safety. The leaflet is available from A&E and Xray departments, minor injury units, libraries, leisure centres, health visitors and early years’ organisations. It can be downloaded from www.sahpd.com under Publications/Accident Prevention or Tel: 028 3741 2424 for a copy.
There is also an online learning and an interactive game on trampolining and other home safety issues www.safehome4me.com