Rolling on wheeled sneaker may be great fun but with the number of resulting injuries going up, doctors are not amused.
The global craze for roller shoes has made companies overnight cash-rich and Heeleys Inc., which produces the most popular brand, has soared to the top of the Business Week’s annual list of fastest growing companies.
Sold in nearly 70 countries across the globe, the roller shoes have resulted in broken wrists, fractured arms and ankles, dislocated elbows and even cracked skulls among the youngsters. Last summer, 67 children were treated for such injuries at the Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.
The situation became so grave that the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is coming out with a set of safety advices that recommends wearing helmets, wrist guard and knee and elbow pads.
Dr. James Beaty, academy president and a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Memphis, blamed the parents for the mishaps.
He said
As these shoes are sold in department stores, parents buying them may develop a false sense of security – that they are like any other shoe.
