Be careful at schools: The dangerous Superman challenge in focus!

Be careful at schools: The dangerous Superman challenge in focus!

On Friday, two seriously injured children were admitted to the Klagenfurt Clinic after they were injured in the so-called “Superman Challenge,” which is currently circulating on TikTok. Primarius Johannes Schalamon and senior physician Christoph Arneitz from the Department of Child and Adolescent Surgery reported that an eleven-year-old and a 14-year-old boy suffered injuries in this dangerous action at school during breaks. The challenge involves two children wrapping their arms around each other and another child trying to jump towards them - but this type of game often goes wrong and often ends in serious injury. While the eleven-year-old boy got off lightly, the 14-year-old had to undergo surgery after his wrist fell on the parquet floor and suffered several fractures. Six screws and a metal plate were inserted in a lengthy operation that will take at least a year to heal. According to the pediatric surgeons, one must be aware that such actions among schoolchildren are not only fun, but can also be very dangerous, and they appeal to parents to pay attention to the safety of their children, as well ORF Carinthia reported.

Increasing number of injuries in winter sports

At the same time, there are alarming reports about the increasing number of skiing and ice skating injuries. Doctors in pediatric and adolescent surgery warn that an average of three children and adolescents have to be treated in hospital every day for serious injuries. This is against the background that the number of skiing accidents in January 2024 doubled compared to December of the previous year, and ice skating injuries are even three times more common. This means that many children and young people need to undergo surgery for both skiing and ice skating. The most common injuries include fractures of the lower extremities, such as lower leg and thigh fractures. Doctors are calling on parents to prepare their children appropriately, for example through ski courses, warm-up exercises and observing the slope rules, in order to reduce the risk of serious accidents 5min.at reported.