I'm interested in any studies or even anecdotal evidence, relating to See-Saw
falls. Where the injured child is under 4years of age. Where the fall involves
the child on the high end, dropping when the low end child slips off. Any note
of injury peculiar to the sitting stance of the falling child.
Especially,of  the lower spine & hips.

Thank you, M.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 28 Dec 2003 11:07 PST

Hello moonmaster-ga,

There are a few very detailed studies of playground injuries that
include school, home and daycare playgrounds, as well as play-areas in
restaurants, etc.

See-saws acount for only a small portion -- about 3% -- of overall
playground injuries.  Of these, an equally small portion -- about 4%
-- involve children four years old or younger.  Most of the see-saw
accidents involve collisions with the equipment itself (e.g., being
hit by the moving see saw) and only 2% of injuries are from actual
falls from the see-saw.

There was no indication of how many accidents were the result of
someone unexpectedly getting off the see-saw.

Is this type of information what you're looking for?  Or are you more
in need of a medical description of the types of injuries that can
result from a child falling off a see-saw?

Any additional clarification you can provide will help researchers
provide the best possible answer to your question.

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Clarification of Question by moonmaster-ga on 28 Dec 2003 17:17 PST

Specifically, I'm interested in the injuries of the "high end" child. Who drops,
while remaining seated, with the free falling See-Saw. The weaker muscles of a
smaller child, coupled with the sitting position, and which injuries might
result.

Thanks, M.

This might be a good place to start: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/playgr.htm.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003 May;157(5):480-6.  

Using test dummy experiments to investigate pediatric injury risk in simulated
short-distance falls.
Bertocci GE, Pierce MC, Deemer E, Aguel F, Janosky JE, Vogeley E.


Not exactly the scenario requested, but a baseline study of short
distance falls using a simulated child.

hlabadie-ga