Hello, my name is Sato and I run J-CLINIC, a physiotherapy and acupuncture clinic in Bangkok.
Recently, we’ve been receiving many inquiries from parents whose child who got hurt while playing on the trampoline and needed treatment.
Trampolining is a popular sport for both adults and children.
Trampolining is fun—who doesn’t enjoy jumping high and floating in the air? And continuous jumping uses all the muscles in your body and gives you an excellent aerobic workout.
But trampolining can also easily lead to injuries. If you haven’t mastered the basic jumping techniques, you can strain your ankles and knees.
In this article, I’ll talk about common trampoline injuries, how to treat them, and how to prevent them.
Common trampoline injuries
Common injuries from trampolining include
Missing a landing and twisting your ankle
Landing on a spring frame and injuring your ankle or knee
Bumping into someone, falling over, and hurting your neck or back
Falling over from a mistimed jump and landing on and hurting your wrist
The most common trampoline injury: Sprains
The most common trampoline injury among patients who come to our clinic is sprains.
Many of our clients tell us, “It’s just a sprain, so I thought it would heal if I put a compress on it.” But if you’ve twisted your ankle hard, the ankle ligaments may be torn or partially damaged. So it’s important to receive treatment as soon as possible.
Musculoskeletal ultrasound exam and palpation: You will be examined with ultrasound and by touch (palpation) to identify your injured ligaments or tendons.
Treating sprains at J-CLINIC
J-CLINIC will treat your sprains with ultrasound/high-voltage therapy, manual therapy and taping, and give you rehab guidance.
Ultrasound/high-voltage therapy to relieve pain
We’ll relieve your pain with a combination of (1) high-voltage electricity to loosen tension in the superficial muscles and (2) ultrasound to relax the deeper muscles that can’t be reached by hand.
This combination therapy also repairs cells and is one of the most popular forms of care used by professional athletes.
Manual therapy and taping
We use massage to loosen muscle tension around the ankle. Taping then immobilizes the ankle, which will speed up the healing process.
Taping
We especially recommend taping for children, as they tend to have a hard time staying off their feet.
Training and self-care guidance
After the pain subsides, we’ll show you exercises to do at home and self-care tips to prevent repeat injuries.
Strengthening your shin and calf muscles to help prevent future sprains. Stand on your toes and then lower your heels. Repeat. If you put a Pilates ball between your knees while doing this exercise, you can strengthen your inner thigh muscles at the same time.
Using a Thera-Band to stretch and strengthen your shin and calf muscles. Like the above exercise, this will help prevent future sprains.
Using massage balls to soften the Achilles tendon. Greater flexibility in your Achilles tendons will increase your ankle’s range of motion and make it harder to sprain your foot.
How to avoid injury on the trampoline
Here are some things you can do to avoid injuries on the trampoline.
Warm up: Before jumping, stretch your lower body. Rotate your ankles and stretch your Achilles tendon.
Learn the correct posture and style for jumping. Keep your posture upright when jumping. Beginners should first learn to jump up straight, landing in the same spot that they took off.
Train the muscles of the lower body. Especially strengthen your shin and calf muscles to ensure a stable landing.
Start by practicing to jump straight up.
First aid for sprains
If you suffer a sprain, icing is the first step in first aid. Icing will help you recover quickly.
And remember the basic first aid “RICE”.
If you are at a trampoline park, it might be a good idea to take a lesson with an instructor the first time. Learn how to jump correctly and enjoy trampolining without getting hurt!
If you suffer from sprains or other foot injuries in Bangkok, get in touch with us by phone, email or Facebook.
From BTS Phrom Phong Station, take Exit 5 and walk along Sukhumvit towards Asoke for about 5 minutes. RSU Tower will be on your right. Take the escalator up to Floor 4 and you will see us right in front of you. If you are coming by car, parking is available at RSU Tower and is free up to 2 hours when you are treated at J-CLINIC.
Thonglor Branch (Soi Thonglor 13, Home Place building Basement Level)
Our Thonglor clinic is on the basement level of Home Place Building, at the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 55 and Thonglor Soi 13. If you are coming by BTS, please take a taxi from BTS Thonglor Station, Exit 3. If you are coming by car, parking is available at Home Place Building and is free up to 4 hours when you are treated at J-CLINIC.
Bangkok Mediplex is a general medical mall on Sukhumvit Soi 42, across from Gateway Ekkamai and directly connected to BTS Ekkamai Station. J-CLINIC Ekkamai branch will be on the 3rd floor of Mediplex. If you come from BTS Ekkamai Station, go through exit 2. It connects directly to Bangkok Mediplex. Take the escalator up to the 3rd floor and you will see our clinic on your right.