Kids get hurt learning to use roller shoes

Kids using roller shoes should always wear protective gear, and parents should supervise children carefully as they navigate the "steep learning curve" involved in mastering their use, UK researchers report.

In a study of injuries due to roller shoes over a 10-week school vacation, Dr. Mihai Vioreanu and colleagues from Temple Street Children's University Hospital in Dublin found that a substantial proportion of the injuries occurred when children were learning how to use them, and none of the 67 injured children were wearing protective equipment.

Heelys, the first roller shoes, were introduced in 2000, Vioreanu and his team note in the medical journal Pediatrics. Their popularity has since exploded worldwide, and many other companies are making versions of the shoes, including Street Gliders, which are wheels that can be strapped to running shoes.

To better understand the risks of roller shoe use, the researchers analyzed all roller shoe injuries that occurred during the 2006 summer vacation. Fifty-six girls and 11 boys were hurt. Injuries usually involved the upper limbs and included arm fractures, elbow dislocations, and hand fractures.

One in five injuries occurred when children were trying roller shoes for the first time, the researchers found, while over a third were hurt while learning how to use them. Seventy percent of the children rated themselves as beginners.

Nonetheless, more than half of the children who were hurt said they intended to use roller shoes again.

While neither the US nor Europe has any regulations in place regarding the sale or use of roller shoes, the researchers note, the Canadian Safety Council has issued guidelines recommending the use of protective gear and avoidance of roads, sidewalks and wet surfaces. According to the council, practicing with roller shoes once a day for a month is needed to "master" this technique.

Vioreanu and his team conclude by urging that kids wear protective gear when using roller shoes, especially wrist guards, and that governments introduce recommendations on the marketing and use of roller shoes.

"Special attention should be paid to the needs of novice skaters to avoid injuries," they write. "We recommend that a safe-use guide be provided with each pair of roller shoes."

source : news.yahoo.com