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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Millions of people are turning to TikTok to watch people injure themselves in the latest video craze.

It’s called the Milk Crate Challenge.

Someone stacks a bunch of milk crates like steps as high as they can and then attempts to walk up and down them. The crates usually collapse with the person awkwardly falling to the ground.

Conan O’Brien tweeted that he wouldn’t take the Milk Crate Challenge until the FDA approved it. The FDA then responded to the tweet and issued their own warning about the dangerous challenge.

The videos also have doctors at the University of Kansas Health System warning against the dangerous challenge.

“You’re at risk for falling hitting your head and getting a head bleed. You’re breaking your neck and becoming paralyzed. When fall you’re naturally want to extend your arm, try to catch yourself, you can you can break the bones in your wrist,” said Dr. Chad Cannon, ER doctor at the University of Kansas Health System.

“I think this is just a silly thing that folks are doing because it looks stupid. It’s just stupid. They would come up where you land on the milk crate, you will break your back and be paralyzed.”

The doctors addressed the Milk Crate Challenge during a Facebook update Wednesday morning. They say the challenge doesn’t have a purpose, and it’s fueled by peer pressure. The doctors recommend talking to your kids about the true danger of what could happen if they agree to take part in it.

“When you watch the position that people land in, I see spinal cord injuries, head injuries, orthopedic injuries, and it seems like a simple challenge that people are again people want to do. But at the end of the day, that simple challenge that seems like a fun, TikTok thing to do might end up in the
ICU,” said Dr. Ryan Jacobson, Medical Director of Johnson County Emergency Medical Services.

Health experts say injuries like what they are seeing with the Milk Crate Challenge end up in the emergency department.

They said anything that can be done to avoid a trip to the hospital should be done now. The emergency departments at hospitals across the metro are packed right now because of the number of COVID-19 cases in Kansas City, and it’s putting a strain on the health care system.