If I told you that the injuries the human body sustained when injured on a trampoline are similar to the injuries sustained from a 90 mph car crash, would you believe me?
Probably not, but a new study released by Dr. Pete Pidcoe, an engineer from Virginia, says otherwise.
Dr. Pidcoe studied the designs of trampolines for over 6 years and just released the data. It’s no surprise that the design of these trampolines is not safe. Dr. Pidcoe stated that “there is energy transferred between trampoline beds. . . really one big trampoline.” This means that the supposed “dividers” in between the squares actually transfer energy from one square to the next.
According to Dr. Pidcoe, the largest bone in the human body, the femur, takes about 900 pounds to break it. For a child, it’s about half of that, so approximately 450 pounds. Dr. Pidcoe stated that an average man, transfers over 400 pounds of force into a child during the “rebound effect.” No wonder there are so many injuries from “double bounces.”
Dr. Pidcoe’s data also found that the injuries are akin to getting “hit with a hammer.” While we can’t be sure, we have to assume that if the waiver you probably signed included “getting hit with a hammer,” you’d have to reconsider signing it on behalf of yourself or your child, we know we would.
Dr. Craig Cook, a trauma surgeon in Utah, stated that he alone has treated over 100 patients with sever injuries due to trampoline park injuries. Dr. Cook opined that “these are the types of injuries that we’d see with high velocity type of trauma motor vehicle crash at 90 miles per hour that rolls or an accident where a patient a victim is thrown off their motorcycle and they fly 100 feet.”
While this doesn’t mean that every time someone steps on a trampoline it will be similar to getting into a severe car accident, it does mean that it happens, and more often than it should. Under certain conditions, the energetic force transferred to the human body is akin to a severe car accident, or getting hit with a hammer. It’s no wonder that that American Journal of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon’s have advised against trampoline park use. The amount of severe injuries and broken bones is only increasing, and this study only justifies the reason why.
Also, this means that the “dividers” in between the individual trampoline squares aren’t exactly doing the job the parks want them to. While the dividers may block some energy transfer, there is evidence that they also transfer enough energy for a jumper several squares away to influence the square you or your child are jumping on.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trampoline-park-dangers-new-research/
https://www.workingmother.com/engineer-warns-parents-trampoline-park#page-2