Milk Crate Challenge: the new viral challenge that is leaving millennials with fractures

There are those who do whatever it takes to rise to the top of success and gain fame in the vast and competitive world of the internet, even if it literally means reaching the top of a pyramid made of milk cartons.

The detail with the challenges on the internet is that at first glance they seem simple. The most recent is the Milk Crate Challenge, in which a pyramid is made by stacking plastic boxes (the ones used to transport milk containers), you have to go up one end and go down the other. It sounds easy enough, but (oh, surprise, no one ever said) it's not safe at all.

Although one of these plastic grids perfectly resists a person's weight, when they are stacked, they become very unstable, and people are discovering it only when they are already at the top of the pyramid, which sometimes has up to seven levels of height.

Few people have managed to get on and off without damage; the rest fall to the ground and have severe injuries. This silly new balance challenge has, like most, no purpose or benefit. It is only to show that they can overcome it, but in the attempt, people end up with their faces on the ground and hurting themselves by falling on the boxes.

Health professionals shouldn't need to warn everyone that the Milk Crate Challenge is dangerous, because just by looking at it, you realize it's a lousy idea.



Even so, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, has already raised his voice to say the obvious: that no one should try and that doing it at this time that clinics have other priorities is really a lack of judgment.

The 'Milk Crate Challenge' is very dangerous, and we are seeing a lot of orthopedic injuries as a result of falls. Injuries can include broken wrists, shoulder dislocations, anterior cruciate ligament, and meniscus tears, as well as life-threatening conditions such as spinal cord injuries. […] Emergency rooms across the country are already overcrowded, and elective surgeries are being delayed or postponed due to a lack of hospital beds. This social media challenge puts unnecessary additional stress on our healthcare system and healthcare providers.

- Doctor Shawn Anthony


Not even a global pandemic seems to have taught us that we take unnecessary risks and, unfortunately, there are many people who have been seriously harmed by doing this challenge. All in order to have a like or video reproductions on social networks. Here is a sample of what they SHOULD NOT DO.

Anyone with half a brain would know that five minutes of Internet fame is not worth suffering a fracture. Although milk strengthens the strength of your bones, doing the Milk Crate Challenge is definitely not the best way to put them to the test.

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