Trampolines can no doubt add an awful lot of fun to any home, providing hours of entertainment, and even exercise, in your own backyard. Kids love to play on these contraptions for hours, and adults often use them for their own fitness regimen, while also stealing some of the guilty pleasure that comes from jumping around like a kid. But there are many safety concerns, and most of these are very well known. There are a number of safety precautions to take, including having an enclosure that can prevent kids from falling through the springs, but there are other concerns as well. The weight limit is very important to keep in mind, but what exactly are the dangers of exceeding the limits?
In a very broad sense, the weight limits are designed to set boundaries to insure that the trampoline can do its job. The flat surface of the trampoline itself is designed to hold certain amounts, and careful tests are made to determine the exact number of pounds for the safety, and life, of the trampoline. The other factor is in the springs, and what they are capable of holding. It’s important to keep in mind that this is not just still weight, but factors in the amount of weight that the trampoline holds when the bodies are in motion. A falling body adds much more to the total, and when there are more than one body, this can increase exponentially.
So it’s not only important that the individual doesn’t weigh more than what the trampoline is designed to hold, but that the number of jumpers recommended is not exceeded. That’s the basic limit of what the material and the springs can stand before breaking, which is something no one would want. The other danger is that when you have multiple people using the contraption, they affect how the trampoline material works. This is the same effect that happens when someone will bounce another person around, where the displaced weight has the result of rendering the flexible material inflexible. So even if the surface doesn’t break, it can become as hard as the ground itself, and falling in this case is the same as falling on the ground. It’s very easy for injuries to happen this way, and they are not as uncommon as one might think.