CHARLOTTE -- Indoor trampoline parks have become a huge hit for kids and adults in the last five years. But with popularity comes injuries.
A new study shows trampoline-related injuries in the ER increased more than a thousand percent in the last five years.
But that number may be deceiving.
With the summer heat North Carolina has been experiencing it's no wonder that Defy Gravity Trampoline Park in Charlotte was packed on Monday.
"With this hot weather it’s been great coming here and they can jump an hour is all we need and they are tired, sweaty mess so it’s been good as a parent,” said parent Cheryl Wade.
Wade is not alone. The gym sees hundreds of people every week of the summer, and with people come injuries.
A new study by researchers at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford shows that in 2010 there were 581 ER visits from trampoline park injuries, but by 2014 that number increased to 6,932.
“And so in five years there has been an explosion of trampoline parks all over the country so that’s going to raise it naturally,” said Defy Gravity General Manager Delinda Hernandez.
Hernandez says each day they take extra precautions before they open and while they are in operation to make sure each child is safe, but the risk is always there.
“Of course you want to take everything seriously, any type of gym experience, any type of extreme experience you’re going to want to take precautions and that’s good,” said Hernandez. “That’s a good thing to do.”
And while the numbers may seem high, Hernandez and Wade say check out the park before you go.
“In a place like this, they’ve got the referees that are constantly blowing the whistle and telling people if they’re doing something wrong and then hopefully the parents are watching,” said Wade.
When the study began there were only 25 parks nationwide. As of last year there were 460 in North America which is an increase larger than the percentage of injuries.