Dear Doctor Column, December 31, 2001
Question:
My husband allows our 4-year-old daughter to walk on our new treadmill at a very low speed. She thinks it is great fun, and she is supervised, but I worry that she could hurt herself. Is this dangerous?
Answer:
While we are all for children playing and exercising, young children and exercise machines pose some risks. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that each year about 8,700 children younger than age five are injured with exercise equipment. There are an additional 16,500 injuries per year to children ages five to 14. Types of equipment identified in these cases include stationary bicycles, treadmills and stair climbers. Fractures, and even amputations, were reported in about 20 percent of exercise equipment-related injuries.
A new study, published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, confirms that treadmill machines can be dangerous for small children. Plastic surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported 12 children who suffered hand injuries from the belt of a moving treadmill. Six of the children required surgery, including skin grafting in one case. According to the researchers, most parents do not regard treadmill machines as potential hazards.
The children in the study ranged in age from 14 months to seven years, with a median age of 2.4 years. Most of the children were injured when their hands were caught in the back of the machine where the treadmill belt wraps around the rear roller.
The majority of the injuries were hand abrasions, some of them equivalent to full-thickness burns in the skin. Half of the children required plastic surgery, because scarred skin prevented them from fully extending their fingers. Frequently, the children were injured while an adult was using a treadmill, and the child climbed on the machine behind an exercising parent. In other cases, the children were injured after switching on an unattended machine.
Although design modifications might improve safety, such as making treadmills harder to start and easier to stop, the researchers, in keeping with advice from the CPSC, say the most practical preventive measure is to keep small children away from exercise equipment, and, when not in use, keep equipment stored and locked or in a locked room, so children cannot get to it. The CPSC also warns adults to remain aware of their surroundings when using exercise equipment. They also recommend avoiding the use of headsets that could keep parents from hearing the pitter-patter of little feet.
In another cautionary note regarding kid's recreational injuries, bicycling is the leading cause of injuries. Children ages 5 to 14 experience 415,000 bicycle injuries requiring an emergency room visit last year. Playground activities and roller sports are the next most common cause of injury. If your child got a new bike for Christmas, the experts emphasize that proper training and use of approved age-specific helmets for cycling can substantially cut the risks for injury, as can the use of wrist and knee guards for roller sports.