WORLD / Health
1,600 roller-shoe injuries reported in US
(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-07 11:34
CHICAGO - Injuries from trendy roller shoes are far more numerous than
previously thought, contributing to about 1,600 emergency room visits
last year, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.
An undated photo provided by Heelys Inc., shows a pair of teenagers
wearing the company's trendy wheeled sneakers. Heelys and their knockoffs
look like gym shoes, but with wheel sockets in each heel. [AP]
The injuries were mostly in children, the target market for the wheeled
shoes that send kids cruising down sidewalks, across playgrounds and
through shopping mall crowds.
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
said last week that the agency knew of at least 64 roller shoe-related
injuries and one death between September 2005 through December 2006.
The new higher estimate is based on a more recent and thorough
examination by staff statisticians of data reported to the agency,
Wolfson told the AP Wednesday.
The update follows new safety advice posted online Tuesday by the
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which recommends helmets, wrist
protectors and knee and elbow pads for kids who wear wheeled shoes.
The academy's advice stems from recent reports from around the globe
about doctors treating cracked skulls; broken wrists, arms and ankles;
and dislocated elbows in kids injured wearing the shoes.
On Monday, a report in June's Pediatrics said 67 children were treated
for roller-shoe injuries at a hospital in Dublin, Ireland, over 10 weeks
last summer.
Heelys, the most popular brand, are sold in 70 countries. They're made by
Carrollton, Texas-based Heelys Inc. The shoes feature removable wheels in
each heel that pop out when wearers shift their weight to their heels.
The company responded to the higher injury estimate by releasing a
statement about their shoes' safety from Edward Heiden, president of
Heiden Associates, a product safety consulting firm that Heelys hired to
study the shoes.
"The injury rate of using wheeled footwear has not increased in the past
15 months. More wheeled shoes are being sold and so, as you would expect,
more incidents are being reported," Heiden said.
Heelys reported in April that a Heiden Associates analysis of data from
the government's product safety commission showed the shoes have a lower
injury rate than many other sports, including skateboarding, inline
skating and even swimming.
Heiden said the new numbers confirm that previous analysis, "which tells
us using wheeled footwear is 42 times safer than basketball, 29 times
safer than bicycling, and 18 times safer than skateboarding."
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