Barbie Halloween costumes bring risk of skating injuries

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- With Barbie on wheels topping Google's list of most-searched Halloween costumes this year, experts caution trick-or-treaters and partygoers that in-line skating can lead to serious injuries.

Costume makers could see the outfit's potential as early as June 2022, when Barbie movie stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as Ken, were spotted inline skating around Venice Beach, Calif. And they were wearing matching neon outfits.

"In-line skates can be a fun and exciting part of the costume," Dr. Mike Holmstrom, an orthopedic surgeon with Intermountain Health in Murray, Utah, told UPI.

"At the same time, however, there can potentially be more injuries from these costumes, as the incidence of in-line skating injuries is increased in beginners without much experience," Holmstrom said.

"Besides inexperience, more in-line skating injuries occur on uneven ground, at night or when alcohol is involved -- all things that might be associated with skates as a part of a Halloween costume."

Safety gear should be part of the outfit, doctors suggest.

For example, skipping a helmet because it doesn't appear cool with the costume can be a costly mistake, said Dr. Jennifer Weiss, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

"If I could only beg one thing from parents, it is to make sure your children wear helmets when in-line skating," Weiss said. And that goes for making the neighborhood rounds in a quest for Halloween goodies.

"Sometimes head injuries can be life-changing or even fatal," Weiss warned.

In addition to the concern about the head, musculoskeletal injuries occur commonly with in-line or roller skates.

"Without question, wrist fractures are the No. 1 injury for our orthopedic team as people naturally reach forward to catch themselves if they are about to fall," said Matthew Tao, associate professor of sports medicine in the department of orthopedic surgery at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

"Certainly, the elbow, knee and ankle are susceptible as well, although to a lesser degree," Tao said. "Depending on the type of fracture, treatment can be either conservative -- a splint versus a cast -- or surgical, which typically involves fixing the bone with a plate and screws."

While the officially licensed in-line skating Barbie costume includes decorative elbow and knee padding, these accessories likely won't offer the same protection as thicker sports pads, said Dr. Susannah Briskin, a pediatric sports medicine physician at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, "maneuvering on in-line skates can be challenging," Briskin said. "It requires balance and coordination to be able to control where you are going and stop when needed." And uneven sidewalks or debris make this even more difficult.

Equally scary is that "kids are often trick-or-treating after dark and in crowded conditions," she said. "In-line skates could put them at risk for falling over something they could not see in the dark or colliding with other people or objects."

Even without skates creating a hazardous situation, "we tend to always see an uptick in emergency department visits near Halloween," said Dr. Nicholas Kman, an emergency physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

"Halloween is in the Top 5 holidays for admissions" to the emergency room, "behind Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Easter," Kman said. "More people are outside, so things like injuries, fights, falls, heat and cold exposure, and alcohol-related events can occur."

Also, cheap skates with plastic wheels -- mostly for show, not for use -- "will make it harder for anyone to skate in," he said. "I would say that for all but the most experienced in-line skater, leave [them] off the costume."