Trampoline Safety Tips

With the growing popularity of trampoline as a fun activity, the number of injuries due to wrong jumps on trampoline have also increased. Nothing is more important than the safety of your children and here are some trampoline safety tips that you should follow when you or your kid is playing on a trampoline...
Trampoline Safety Tips
Jumping on a trampoline is a great joyful activity that every age group enjoys. Exercise trampoline is the latest trend of doing exercises by bouncing the body. However, negligence during trampolining can lead to serious injuries. It is not that only kids get hurt while jumping on a trampoline, even adults get injured. Parts of the body that are susceptible to injury while jumping on a trampoline are legs, neck, head, arms and face. Head and neck are very sensitive parts of our body as they contain important organs, like, brain and spinal cord. Any injury to these two parts can lead to severe or fatal health consequences. Minor injuries that one can get due to jumping mistakes on trampoline include fractures in legs or arms and scratches on the skin or damage to the affected muscle, while severe injuries include traumatic injury to brain or spinal cord, crack in the neck, etc. These serious injuries can even lead to death or fatal health conditions like paralysis. So, it is quite clear that one needs to take appropriate trampoline safety measures while jumping on a trampoline. Trampoline safety tips are discussed below.

Tips on Trampoline Safety
Before moving on to the actual safety tips, there are certain initial steps that you should follow while jumping on a trampoline. The most important thing is placing the trampoline and making your kids and yourself aware of the trampoline rules. Whenever you buy a new trampoline or you get it as a gift, the first thing to be done is make your kids aware of what to do and what not to do on the trampoline. Develop a set of rules at the beginning itself and always make them recall the rules whenever they are jumping or are near the trampoline. Always buy a trampoline of a good company. While placing the trampoline in the backyard or any place in your outdoors, see that you set it in such a place that there are no obstacles, like, trees, park benches, poles, etc. Try to keep the height of the trampoline very low, if possible place it in a pit. The trampoline should be surrounded by a soft surface like grass. Now let us take a look at the various trampoline safety tips:
  • One at a time! This rule should be strictly followed while jumping on a trampoline. A majority of accidents take place due to the presence of more than one person on the trampoline.
  • Always supervise your kids when they are near or on the trampoline. Kids tend to attempt experiments with new jumps in the absence of parents.
  • Make your kids aware of injuries that can happen if they do not follow the rules told by you.
  • Always remove any jewelry while jumping on the trampoline. Never carry sharp objects.
  • One should never jump directly on the trampoline from another surface or vice versa. A number of injuries take place due to this common mistake.
  • It is always better to take trampoline safety precautions before jumping on the trampoline. Use safety pads to cover the rough edges of the trampoline. There are covering nets available that can avoid injuries. Take a look at the condition of the trampoline before jumping. Repair cuts on the fabric, if any.
  • When one is jumping on a trampoline, everybody else should stay away from it. See that other kids do not go below the trampoline net or sit on the side or rounded edges of the trampoline.
  • Most important trampoline safety tip is, try to jump in the center of the trampoline. Do not perform any trick if you are new to jumping on trampoline.
  • Always keep the bouncing on the trampoline very low. Do not jump too high and do not land on hard surfaces after jumping on it.
  • Limit the period of bouncing on the trampoline. Do not continue jumping if you are too tired. One should not jump on a trampoline if one has consumed alcohol or drugs.
  • Somersaults should be performed only by those who are expert at performing trampoline tricks.
Trampoline safety tips are nothing but very simple basic things that one should follow. Never leave your kids unattended when they are near the trampoline. Almost 300,000 trampoline injuries take place every year with maximum percentage of kids getting hurt. Do not make the fun turn into a sad demise and always be on high alert while dealing with trampoline jumps.

By Mayuri Kulkarni
Published: 9/7/2009
 
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