Heelys Hazardous for Kids, Study Finds

June 4, 2007 — -- Even if one hasn't had firsthand experience zipping across sidewalks on a pair of shoes with wheels in the heels, most everyone is familiar with "heeling," as the activity is called.

Now, doctors are worried that the footwear may put young users at increased risk of sprains and fractures, and a new study may further justify their fears.

According to a study released today in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics, 67 children were treated for injuries from footwear known as Heelys and similar products at Temple Street Children's University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, over a 10-week period last summer.

"The results are pretty amazing," says study author Dr. Mihai Vioreanu, adding that the unnatural balance needed to successfully pilot the shoes likely contributes to injuries.

"This balanced position with a tendency of the body to fall backwards explains the risk of falling," he says.

The study isn't the first red flag that has been raised over the footwear. According to The Associated Press, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported last week that one death and at least 64 roller-shoe injuries could be blamed on the trendy footwear.

And the injuries aren't just in Ireland. In recent years, doctors in Korea, Singapore, the United States and other countries have raised concerns about the shoes and the injuries they may be causing.

All of this comes at a time when the products have already sparked an international craze. Heelys Inc., the company that manufactures the Heelys brand footwear, says it has shipped more than 10 million pairs of the wheeled footwear since its introduction in 2000.

The company maintains that its products are safe. Last April, Heelys Inc. announced that a study using Consumer Product Safety Commission data on product-related injuries from January 2001 through September 2006 confirmed that the use of the footwear was significantly safer than bicycling, skateboarding, basketball, soccer and even tennis.