![]() The study found that it's primarily younger kids getting hurt. The high rate of hospitalization is consistent with what we see for adventure sports and reflects the severity of the injuries associated with this activity. Though the rate of injuries while ziplining is relatively low, when injuries do occur they can be quite serious. Approximately one in 10 patients (12 percent) were admitted to the hospital for their injury. The most frequent type of injuries were broken bones (46 percent), bruises (15 percent), strains/sprains (15 percent) and concussions/closed head injuries (7 percent). The majority of zipline-related injuries were the result of either a fall (77 percent) or a collision (13 percent) with either a tree, a stationary support structure or another person. What are the most common types of injuries? The increase in the number of injuries is likely due largely to the increase in number of ziplines and shows this is a growing trend. When you include the number of amateur ziplines that can also be found in backyards and at places like outdoor education programs and camps, the number skyrockets to over 13,000. Tracy Mehan: The number of commercial ziplines grew from just 10 in 2001 to over 200 by 2012. Rachel Zimmerman: Are you surprised by this sharp increase in zipline injuries? I asked one of the study authors, Tracy Mehan, manager of translational research with the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, a few questions about the report, published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. The report on ziplines (first used over a century ago to transport supplies in the Indian Himalayas) found that most of the injuries resulted from falling off the zipline, and many involved young children. Which states have zipline regulations (Source: Association for Challenge Course Technology) The study, which researchers say is the first to characterize the epidemiology of zipline-related injuries using a nationally representative database, found that from 1997-2012, about 16,850 zipline-related injuries were treated in U.S. Indeed, injuries related to ziplines are rising as the lines proliferate, according to a new report: In 2012 alone, there were over 3,600 zipline-related injuries, or about 10 a day. And last year, a 10-year-old boy died after a backyard zipline accident in Easton, Massachusetts, in which the tree holding the line fell on the child. ![]() Increasingly, zipline disasters are making the news. A 12-year-old girl in North Carolina died after falling off a zipline at the YMCA's Champ Cheerio in June. But Annie shudders as she thinks of what could have happened: "If she had fallen a little differently she could have broken her neck." Ultimately, the little girl was fine, although she probably had a minor concussion, her mother said. She called an ambulance, and paramedics put a collar on Hannah's neck on the way to the local emergency department. "For a few minutes she was really pale and out of it," said her mother, a Boston doctor (and a friend of mine). But when Hannah sped to the end of the zipline, she stopped short, flew into the air, did a back flip, and landed on her neck. So her mother, Annie, gave Hannah an extra big push. Hannah Weyerhauser was 5 years old, playing on the zipline at her family's house in New Hampshire, when she started complaining that her older cousins and siblings were going faster than she was. Facebook Email This article is more than 7 years old.
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