A new study from the Alberta Children’s Hospital shows parents should be taking more precautions when sending their kids out on Heelys — those sneakers with wheels in the heels.
Eight-year-old Nichelle Friesen was recently injured while heeling on an uneven sidewalk. She hit the ground face-first, her eye was swollen shut.
“We tell our kids to put on helmets with biking and roller-skating, but because it’s a running shoe, I didn’t even think about it…unfortunately,” says Mom Brenda.
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Researchers at the Alberta Children’s Hospital say 40 kids were injured on Heelys over a 2-year period. While most injuries occurred on bicycles, kids on wheeled shoes had the highest percentage of forearm fractures and dislocations.
“From a health care perspective, if we can prevent these kinds of injuries, by using wrist guards, then I think that’s a sound recommendation,” says Dr. Brent Hagel, injury researcher at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Alberta adopted a bicycle helmet law in 2001, and Dr. Hagel says he’d like to see parents extend helmet use to all roller-type activities, including wheeled shoes, skateboarding, and scooters.
“The message is that it’s important to wear protective equipment and not view these activities as toys, but as sporting equipment that can result in injury,” he adds.
The study also showed more girls than boys were injured while using wheeled shoes, and they were under the age of 10.
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