Injuries associated with... TRAMPOLINES

CHIRPP database, summary data for 1998, all ages

LIMITATIONS

This report is based on information from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP). It is important to note that the injuries described do not represent all injuries in Canada, but only those seen at the emergency departments of the 15 hospitals in the CHIRPP network. Since the bulk of CHIRPP data come from the pediatric hospitals, which are in major cities, injuries suffered by the following people are under-represented in the CHIRPP database: older teenagers and adults, who are seen at general hospitals; native people; and people who live in rural areas. Fatal injuries are also under-represented in the CHIRPP database because the emergency department data do not capture information on people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after being admitted.

SUMMARY (557 records)

The majority of trampolining injuries occurred in the 5-14 year age range (78.9%). Overall, 53.1% of the injuries were sustained by females. Almost half (46.8%) of the injuries occurred between 4 pm and 8 pm. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were the most common (52.1%) days when the injuries were experienced. Three-quarters (76.1%) of the injuries were sustained in the Spring and Summer (March to August). Most of the incidents (69.6%) occurred in the yard of either the injured person's own home or another home. Many of the injuries were sustained when the patient attempted a manoeuvre, trick or flip (27.3%), when more than one person was on the trampoline (21.7%) or when the person fell or landed hard on the trampoline (21.5%). Fractures to the upper and lower extremities were the leading type of injury (46.8%). Just over forty percent (40.6%) of the injured were treated with medical follow-up required while 13.1% were admitted to hospital. Of the admitted patients, 82.2% were in the 5-14 year age range; overall 52.1% of the admitted patients were female. Almost half of the admitted patients (46.6%) were injured by falling off the trampoline and making contact with the ground or an object. Fractures constituted the majority (86.3%) of injuries sustained by admitted patients.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE SEARCH

In November 1999, a search of the CHIRPP database for the year 1998 (111,506 records) was conducted. No age restriction was specified in the search. Records were selected if i) they contained the factor code for trampolining (code 1180) or ii) the Injury Event Description contained the string 'TRAMPOLINE'. The selected records were then scanned and eliminated if the injury was not directly related to trampolining (e.g. the person fell performing another activity and made contact with a nearby trampoline). The report includes trampolines of all sizes from small models used indoors ('mini-trampolines') to large models suitable for use in yards or gymnasia. The total number of records captured was 557.

MISSING (UNKNOWN) VALUES

In the following sections, at the bottom of each table or in the description, the number of missing values is indicated (if necessary). Missing values represent those records for which the value of the variable in question is unknown (i.e. the information was not provided on the CHIRPP reporting form). In these cases the percentages are calculated on the total after the missing values are removed.

AGE AND SEX DISTRIBUTION OF INJURED

Age	Frequency	Percent of Injuries	Number /100,000 *	Percent male**
1-4 years	68	12.2	246	50.0
5-9 years	198	35.5	851.4	45.4
10-14 years	242	43.4	894.8	46.3
15-19 years	43	7.7	390.8	46.5
>= 20 years	6	1.1	32.1	83.3
Total	557	100	499.5	46.9
* The number of injuries per 100,000 CHIRRP injuries of all types within the age group indicated. Because CHIRRP collects information from ten children's hospitals and only five of the general hospitals, there is a high number of young children in the database. Using number per 100,000 within an age group (instead of overall percent by age group) adjusts for different age group distributions. ** The percentage of males in the entire CHIRPP database for 1998 is 59.3%

OVERALL PATTERN OF OCCURRENCE

Year to year pattern

Year	Frequency	Percent of all injuries*
1990	149	0.35
1991	244	0.32
1992	244	0.34
1993	305	0.30
1994	350	0.28
1995	372	0.30
1996	412	0.34
1997	466	0.40
1998	557	0.50
Total	3099	0.35
* The percentage of all injuries that are trampoline-related in the CHIRPP database for the given year.

Time at which the injury occurred

Time of day	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Midnight to < 8:00 am	2	0.4
8:00 am to < Noon	24	4.8
Noon to < 4:00 pm	138	27.5
4:00 pm to < 8:00 pm	235	46.8
8:00 pm to < Midnight	103	20.5
Total	502	100
# of missing values = 55

Day during which the injury occurred

Day	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Sunday	100	18
Monday	68	12.2
Tuesday	70	12.6
Wednesday	63	11.3
Thursday	66	11.8
Friday	84	15.1
Saturday	106	19
Total	557	100

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE INJURY

Where the injury occurred

Location/Area	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Other home yard other areas basement	210 205 4 1	37.7
Own home yard living room basement other areas	192 183 5 1 3	34.5
School gymnasium school yard	29 25 4	5.2
Sports facility (gymnasium)	12	2.1
Other locations	3	0.5
Unknown	111	19.9
Total	557	100

Breakdown event and factors contributing to the injury*

What happened	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Attempted a manoeuvre, trick or flip	152	27.3
More than one person on trampoline at a time bumped into, hit or fell on top of another person jumping, playing on trampoline pushed or fell off trampoline	121 75 28 18	21.7
Fell or landed hard on trampoline while playing or jumping	120	21.5
Fell off while trampolining (made contact with ground, floor or object)	87	15.6
Made contact with frame of trampoline, caught in springs or openings	32	5.7
Other circumstances	22	4.0
Injured while getting off or jumping off (often a poor landing)	18	3.2
Person under trampoline	3	0.5
Trampoline broke, ripped, closed or collapsed	2	0.4
Total	557	100
*Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on the 557 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

NATURE OF INJURY AND BODY PART INJURED *

Injury type/body region	Frequency	Percent of Injuries	Percent Male
Fractures Upper extremity Lower extremity Face (excluding eye) Spine	267 154 103 5 5	48.6	46.8
Sprains/Strains/Dislocations Lower extremity Upper extremity Neck Back Face	150 98 28 13 10 1	27.3	38.7
Superficial Injuries Lower extremity Upper extremity Face, other head Thorax, back Pelvis, perineum, external genitalia	54 23 14 11 5 1	9.8	53.7
Open wound Face, other head Lower extremity Upper extremity	30 25 4 1	5.5	53.3
Nerve/muscle/blood vessel injury Lower extremity Neck Upper extremity Spine/spinal cord	17 8 6 2 1	3.1	52.9
Minor Head Injuries	14	2.6	64.3
Dental injury	7	1.3	85.7
Concussions	6	1.1	83.3
Intracranial	1	0.2	0
No Injury Detected	2	0.4	50
Other injuries	1	0.2	100
Total	549	100	47.2
* up to three injuries and body parts can be entered per record; only the most severe injury is indicated in the above table; 94.6 % of the injured sustained only one injury. # of Missing values = 8

TREATMENT PROVIDED IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Disposition	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Left without being seen	9	1.6
Advice only	83	14.9
Treated, follow-up if necessary	158	28.4
Treated, medical follow-up required	226	40.6
Short stay, observation in emergency	8	1.4
Admitted to hospital*	73	13.1
Fatal injury**	0	0
Total	557	100
* The percentage of admitted cases for all injuries for the period searched was 6.8% * *Fatalities counted by CHIRPP include only those patients who were dead on arrival at the emergency department or who died in the emergency department. They do not include people who died before they could be taken to hospital or those who died after hospital admission.

SUMMARY OF PERSONS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL

Age and Sex Distribution of Injured Persons Admitted to Hospital

Age	Frequency	Percent of Injuries	Percentmale *
2-4 years	10	13.7	50
5-9 years	33	45.2	42.4
10-14 years	27	37	48.1
15-19 years	3	4.1	100
Total	73	100	47.9
*The percentage of males amongst admitted patients in the entire CHIRPP database for 1998 is 60.2 %

Breakdown event and factors contributing to the injury for admitted cases*

What happened*	Frequency	Percent of Injuries
Fell off while trampolining (made contact with ground, floor or object)	34	46.6
Fell or landed hard on trampoline while playing or jumping	18	24.7
More than one person on trampoline at a time jumping, playing on trampoline bumped into, hit or fell on top of another person pushed or fell off trampoline	13 5 4 4	17.8
Attempted a manoeuvre, trick or flip	4	5.5
Injured while getting off or jumping off (often a poor landing)	3	4.1
Made contact with frame of trampoline, caught in springs or openings	1	1.4
Total	73	100
*Each patient was assigned to a single category and percentages were based on the 73 persons injured. Category assignment was based on the level of detail available in the description of the injury.

Nature of Injury and Body Part Injured for Admitted Persons*

Injury type/body region	Frequency	Percent of
Fractures Upper extremity Lower extremity Face (excluding eye)	63 49 13 1	86.3
Nerve/muscle/blood vessel Lower extremity Neck Spine/spinal cord	4 2 1 1	5.5
Dislocations Lower extremity Upper extremity	2 1 1	2.7
Dental	1	1.4
Minor Head Injuries	1	1.4
Concussion	1	1.4
Intracranial	1	1.4
Total	73	100
* up to three injuries and body parts can be entered per record; only the most severe injury is indicated in the above table ; 93.2% of the injured sustained only one injury.

SUGGESTED REFERENCE AND REPORTING INFORMATION

This report and data from it may be copied and circulated freely provided that the source is acknowledged. The following citation is recommended:

Injury data were obtained from the database of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), Health Canada.

If data from this report are included in any other document or publication, it should be noted, where appropriate, that the information comes from 15 hospitals (10 pediatric and 5 general) across Canada.

For additional information on the CHIRPP program, please contact the Child Injury Division, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control by phone at (613) 941-9918, by FAX at (613) 941-9927 or visit our website at <www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/injury-bles/>.