Paediatric treadmill friction injuries

Abstract

This study found that paediatric treadmill friction injuries are severe and increasing in incidence. Australian standards should be developed, implemented and mandated to reduce this preventable and severe injury.

Too hot to trot (barefoot)… A study of burns in children caused by sun heated surfaces in Queensland, Australia

“…We identified 15 children with burns caused by naturally heated surfaces over a period of 14 months, representing approximately 1.7% of the total burns presenting to our service. This number is comparable to the number of burns related to treadmill injuries [6], a mechanism of injury which has received considerable media attention in Australia.…”

Treadmill Injuries in the Pediatric Population

“…All gyms, clubs, and exercise have a rule posted in plain view stating children may not be there without adult supervision. Pediatric injuries due to treadmills have increased in frequency since early reports in the 1990s [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In 1999, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning regarding the risk of injury to children from exercise equipment, and advised parents to keep children away from the equipment; a seemingly easy solution albeit difficult to implement in regards to curious children [7].…”

Emergency department-reported injuries associated with mechanical home exercise equipment in the USA

“…Finally, the pattern of injuries observed in this study may be specific to the USA. However, studies in other countries have similarly described paediatric injuries from treadmills and exercise bicycles 6 8 9 17. Preventing injuries from mechanical home exercise equipment is relevant to countries where exercising at home may also be common.…”