TikTok has officially banned the growing “milk crate challenge,” a viral video challenge that prompts users to stack milk crates in a pyramid form and climb it without falling.
Spoiler alert: the person usually falls, and the challenge could pose serious medical risks.
CNN reports that TikTok decided to put a moratorium on the challenge by removing all search results for the challenge’s corresponding hashtags, and releasing a statement explaining the decision behind the ban. “TikTok prohibits content that promotes or glorifies dangerous acts, and we remove videos and redirect searches to our Community Guidelines to discourage such content,” a spokesperson for the video-sharing app explained. “We encourage everyone to exercise caution in their behavior whether online or off.”
Medical professionals have been warning users against the possible dangers of participating in this particular challenge. Dr. Shawn Anthony, an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai in New York, told TODAY Parents that the milk crate challenge is “very dangerous” and has already resulted in orthopedic injuries. Dr. Anthony added that anyone who attempts the challenge could risk “broken wrists, shoulder dislocations, ACL and meniscus tears, as well as life-threatening conditions like spinal cord injuries.”
It’s also worth noting that hospital capacity is already surging in many places around the country due to rising cases of COVID-19. Several doctors and medical professionals have pointed out that folks should be mindful of hospital crowding and it’s especially imperative to avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room for things that can be easily prevented. “We don’t have a lot of hospital beds available for kids and adults for things that we can prevent like this,” Marcial Oquendo, a pediatrician with Children’s Health in Dallas, explained to NBC. “We want to keep beds available for the pandemic that we’re trying to deal with.”