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There is a dangerous new trend going viral on social media.
The “Milk Crate Challenge” first appeared on TikTok and is now touring social platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
But experts warn that the dangerous trend, coupled with the overcrowding of U.S. emergency rooms due to COVID-19, could be a looming disaster.
What is the milk crates challenge?
The milk crates challenge is to stack milk crates in a pyramid shape and successfully walk back and forth.
The virality of the challenge emerged from the often catastrophic results.
“The Milk Crate Challenge is very dangerous and we are seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries as a result of falls,” Dr. Shawn Anthony, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai in New York, told TODAY Parents. “Injuries can include wrist fractures, shoulder dislocations, ACL and meniscus tears, as well as life-threatening conditions such as spinal cord injuries.”
Anthony said that in addition to physical injuries, the viral challenge of social media presents a societal threat.
“Emergency rooms across the country are already overcrowded and elective surgeries are being delayed or postponed due to lack of hospital beds,” he said TODAY. “This social media challenge places unnecessary additional stress on our healthcare system and our healthcare providers.”
Anthony isn’t the only doctor to notice the dangerous trend.
George Gantsoudes, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Virginia tweeted a warning alongside an example of the challenge gone horribly wrong.
“The orthopedic surgeries (sic) needed to resolve the problems caused by this may fall under the umbrella of ‘elective surgeries’,” he said. “You might not want to tempt the gods of trauma if you live south of Mason-Dixon.”
This is not the first time that a dangerous social media challenge has surfaced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, a mother in the UK said her daughter swallowed 15 magnetic beads while following a new ‘fake piercing’ challenge on TikTok.
“She had part of her bowel removed… it was like two segments, so they had to sew it up,” said Faye Elizabeth of her daughter’s emergency surgery. “They also found magnets inside his appendix, so they had to remove his appendix as well. He now has little more than a 6 inch scar on his stomach.
Another dangerous TikTok challenge that involved intentionally choking to reach a euphoric state left a 12-year-old in Colorado dead.
“Our family is devastated beyond belief by Joshua’s situation,” the family said in an update to GoFundMe at the time. “We are also concerned for other families who, like us, may not be aware of the existence of the Blackout Challenge and others like it.… We urge the community to (spread) awareness about Joshua and the real risks of not knowing the types of activities children are involved in.
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