This just in...wheels in heels of kid's shoes can cause injuries

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
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CHICAGO ? Trendy wheeled sneakers that let kids zip down sidewalks, across playgrounds and through mall crowds could also send them rolling into emergency rooms on a stretcher, say doctors who blame a rash of injuries on the international craze.

It's called "heeling," named after Heelys, the most popular brand. They're sold in 70 countries and are so hot that their Carrollton, Texas, maker, Heelys Inc., recently landed atop BusinessWeek's annual list of fastest growing companies.

But doctors from Ireland to Singapore have reported treating broken wrists, arms and ankles; dislocated elbows and even cracked skulls in children injured while wearing roller shoes.

Over a 10-week period last summer, 67 children were treated for injuries from Heelys or strap-on wheels called Street Gliders at Temple Street Children's University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, according to a report in the June edition of Pediatrics.

From September 2005 through December 2006, one death and at least 64 roller-shoe injuries were reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a spokesman said last week.

And doctors in Singapore reported last year that 37 children had been treated for similar injuries at a hospital there during a seven-month period in 2004. None were wearing protective gear.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, based in Rosemont, Ill., this week is issuing new safety advice that recommends helmets, wrist protectors and knee and elbow pads for kids who wear wheeled shoes.

"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," said Dr. James Beaty, academy president and a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Memphis.

Heelys and their knockoffs look like gym shoes, but with wheel sockets in each heel. They can be used for walking, but the wheels pop out when users shift their weight to their heels.

Balancing on the wheels can be tricky, especially for novices. In the Irish study, most injuries were in new users and occurred when kids fell backward while trying to transfer their body weight.

Dr. Leon Benson of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, Ill., recalled treating a 9-year-old girl who'd had her Heelys for just a week when she fell and broke both wrists.

Nine-year-old Noah Woelfel of Davidsonville, Md., wasn't a novice but still tripped and fell, breaking several fingers and wrist bones in his right hand last year.

"All it took was a tiny piece of gravel in the driveway that went up in the wheel and stopped him cold," said his mother, Nancy. "He required surgery and pins, and he was six weeks without using his hand, right at the beginning of school."

She threw the removable wheels away and said other parents should know about the risks.

Dr. Dominic Catanese, a foot specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said balancing on heels can strain feet and Achilles tendons. He has treated several Heelys-related ankle injuries and won't let his 7-year-old daughter have the shoes.

"She wants them. Not happening. Just like I took away her trampoline" after reading about trampoline injuries. "It went right to Goodwill," Catanese said.

Heelys in April said a study it commissioned shows that their shoes have a safer injury rate than skateboarding, inline skating and even swimming.

The shoes are sold with safety information including a recommendation to wear protective gear.

The company says it has shipped more than 10 million pairs since their introduction in 2000. Heelys reported first-quarter income of $8.5 million, five times higher than last year.

Still, some walkers find heelers who zip in and out of crowds a nuisance, and many schools and shopping malls have banned them.

Kelly Ford, 14, used to cruise down the halls of her Chicago grammar school in Heelys ? a practice that led teachers to confiscate some kids' wheels.

Now a high school freshman, Ford has outgrown her Heelys. She said kids who wear them won't pay much attention to safety warnings.

"I don't think any kid is going to want to wear a helmet to school," Ford said.

She thinks Heelys are being unfairly targeted.

"It's just like, let your kid have fun. I think they're fine," Ford said.

This reminds me of when scooters became hot a few years back so of course there had to be a report on how many kids ended up with injuries. Kids riding things with wheels = injuries. Doesn't matter if it is a bicycle, a skateboard, a scooter, or heelys.
 

mwtgg

Lifer
Dec 6, 2001
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It's a good thing those shoes are taking care of the problem, because if they didn't I would end up breaking the legs of these little bastards.
 

PepePeru

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2005
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i was at a rest. just yesterday and saw this kid wheeling around on those things.
i thought if that kid were to hit a raised up section of tile or something, fell & cracked his head open if the restaraunt could be a target of litigation.

 

TravisT

Golden Member
Sep 6, 2002
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I always thought the shoes were kinda goofy but cool at the same time. I don't think it is time to shove them up on the shelf just because some kids get hurt though. It is what happens! I mean, you aren't cool enough to get a girl unless you can show her some battle scars. ;)
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
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News flash! Fun things are often potentially risky!

In other news, thousands die each year in automobiles, we need to stop using them as well.

ZV
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
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The shoes I can understand, but throwing out the trampoline?
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
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Shocking! So what? Those things are awesome. I've been trying to find them in adult sizes. I'd wear them everywhere.
 

Aharami

Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
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"She wants them. Not happening. Just like I took away her trampoline" after reading about trampoline injuries. "It went right to Goodwill," Catanese said.

wow. talk about an over-protective mom. Jumping on a trampoline is awesome exercise and is fun as hell. As for the heelies, I find them annoying but kids need to fall and learn a lesson for themselves.
 
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lokiju

Lifer
May 29, 2003
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I'm happy I've been seeing signs in more and more places lately that forbid the use of these.

Like at Home Depot, you see these kids zipping all over the place in them and that is just not a safe place to be doing that.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
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Hmm... I had no idea people had such hate against these. Everytime I've seen a kid on them, the only thought going through my mind is how lame it is that they weren't around when I was a kid.
Anyway, I checked the manufacturer's website and it says they make up to a Mens 12. I wear 11's, so I'm buying 'em! If only just to spite the haters. ;)
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
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Originally posted by: Aharami
"She wants them. Not happening. Just like I took away her trampoline" after reading about trampoline injuries. "It went right to Goodwill," Catanese said.

wow. talk about an over-protective mom. Jumping on a trampoline is awesome exercise and is fun as hell. As for the heelies, I find them annoying but kids need to fall and learn a lesson for themselves.

Yep. Seems like that while the media is hyping up stories about children being overweight they are hyping up stories about how dangerous it is for your child to go out, run around, and play.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: Aharami
"She wants them. Not happening. Just like I took away her trampoline" after reading about trampoline injuries. "It went right to Goodwill," Catanese said.

wow. talk about an over-protective mom. Jumping on a trampoline is awesome exercise and is fun as hell. As for the heelies, I find them annoying but kids need to fall and learn a lesson for themselves.

Yep. Seems like that while the media is hyping up stories about children being overweight they are hyping up stories about how dangerous it is for your child to go out, run around, and play.

Well yeah. Media is a big for-profit moneymaker (the biggest by gross margin in the world FYI). This is how they have their cake and eat it too.
You can't let your kid walk or ride his bike to school or practice, because there are "predators" out there and something terrible might happen to him/her, even though crime is currently at its lowest in 30 years and parents when I was a kid always let their kids out... But then when parents keep their kids inside in front of the TV, because it's safe (and OMG is that important), and the kids get fat and lazy, then the media gets to sell more fearmongering copy about obese kids that scored poorly on tests. Win win for them.
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
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Originally posted by: ViRGE
The shoes I can understand, but throwing out the trampoline?

ya, i thought the same thing. that mom was a bit over the top on that issue, but probably made for a better slant on their bias to the issue.

i am 37 yrs old and have my own set of heelys. my kids have them, and i dont let them skate around in restaurants or stores. these are like skates or skateboards, there is a place for them. sure, id love to go grocery shopping with em on, would make it way more fun and quick. but i dont. these kids that are getting hurt arent listening to the safety reqs for doing it, but when i was 12 i wasnt wearing pads and a helmet when i was on a halfpipe. until i saw a friend lose part of his head.
 

trmiv

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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I don't mind them as long as they aren't doing it in stores, restaurants, etc. Other than that, I don't have a problem, but I don't want some kid rolling into me when I'm walking through a store.
 

dainthomas

Lifer
Dec 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: trmiv
I don't mind them as long as they aren't doing it in stores, restaurants, etc. Other than that, I don't have a problem, but I don't want some kid rolling into me when I'm walking through a store.

That almost happened to me. Should've clotheslined the punk.
 

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
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Originally posted by: Queasy
Yep. Seems like that while the media is hyping up stories about children being overweight they are hyping up stories about how dangerous it is for your child to go out, run around, and play.

Seems to me that they are just exacerbating the pandemic of parental stupidity to me. Now parents have to actually be told by the news that the shoes are dangerous because they are too stupid to figure it out on their own, or told that having a kid who is fat at 13 is not ok. The average IQ in the gene pool would probably go up in about 50 years if news outfits stopped covering things that are common sense.