High-velocity trauma by social media: a new mechanism of injury in pediatric traumatology?
- 1Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
- 2Department of Trauma and Orthopedic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Abstract
Purpose : Over the past two decades, social media challenges have emerged as a significant cause of injuries among adolescents. This study evaluates a sudden cluster of severe upper limb injuries resulting from the viral “Superman challenge” to raise clinical awareness of digital behaviors in pediatric trauma.
Methods: A retrospective study at a tertiary pediatric trauma center evaluated patients aged < 18 years admitted in December 2024 following the “Superman challenge.”
Results: Eight patients were admitted within a 10-day window following high-energy injuries from the challenge. The cohort showed a female predominance (62.5%) with a mean age of 13.25 (±1.03) years. The high-velocity mechanism led to atypical, severe injury patterns distinct from routine accidental falls. We observed an unusual cluster of severe distal forearm fractures in five patients, which uniformly required surgical treatment. Three patients even suffered bilateral distal radius fractures. Additional associated injuries included fractures of the ulnar styloid process (n = 5) and concomitant TFCC tears (n = 2), reflecting the high-energy nature of the challenge.
Conclusions: The rapid, viral spread of physical social media challenges such as the ‘Superman Challenge’ can lead to dangerous injury mechanisms involving high-velocity trauma among children and adolescents. These trends could lead to sudden, localized clusters of atypical high-energy injuries—a scenario that, under specific conditions, risks overtaxing conventional healthcare systems, as previously demonstrated in the literature. Medical staff need to be aware of changing digital behaviors, which represent a new mechanism of injury in pediatric trauma.
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BibTeX
@article{sennert2026highvelocity,
title = {{High-velocity trauma by social media: a new mechanism of injury in pediatric traumatology?}},
author = {Michael Sennert and Benjamin Schoof and Merle Körner and Monika Le and Jan Kolman and Omid Madadi-Sanjani and Kristofer Wintges},
journal = {European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s00068-026-03361-8},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-026-03361-8},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - High-velocity trauma by social media: a new mechanism of injury in pediatric traumatology?
AU - Michael Sennert
AU - Benjamin Schoof
AU - Merle Körner
AU - Monika Le
AU - Jan Kolman
AU - Omid Madadi-Sanjani
AU - Kristofer Wintges
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery
DO - 10.1007/s00068-026-03361-8
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-026-03361-8
AB - Purpose : Over the past two decades, social media challenges have emerged as a significant cause of injuries among adolescents. This study evaluates a sudden cluster of severe upper limb injuries resulting from the viral “Superman challenge” to raise clinical awareness of digital behaviors in pediatric trauma. Methods: A retrospective study at a tertiary pediatric trauma center evaluated patients aged < 18 years admitted in December 2024 following the “Superman challenge.” Results: Eight patients were admitted within a 10-day window following high-energy injuries from the challenge. The cohort showed a female predominance (62.5%) with a mean age of 13.25 (±1.03) years. The high-velocity mechanism led to atypical, severe injury patterns distinct from routine accidental falls. We observed an unusual cluster of severe distal forearm fractures in five patients, which uniformly required surgical treatment. Three patients even suffered bilateral distal radius fractures. Additional associated injuries included fractures of the ulnar styloid process (n = 5) and concomitant TFCC tears (n = 2), reflecting the high-energy nature of the challenge. Conclusions: The rapid, viral spread of physical social media challenges such as the ‘Superman Challenge’ can lead to dangerous injury mechanisms involving high-velocity trauma among children and adolescents. These trends could lead to sudden, localized clusters of atypical high-energy injuries—a scenario that, under specific conditions, risks overtaxing conventional healthcare systems, as previously demonstrated in the literature. Medical staff need to be aware of changing digital behaviors, which represent a new mechanism of injury in pediatric trauma.
SN - 1863-9933
SN - 1863-9941
ER -