PHOENIX — A Valley doctor is speaking out about the dangers of a viral social media challenge referred to as the "milk crate challenge."
Videos that have racked up millions of views show people attempting to walk up and down stacks of empty milk crates. Most result in painful-to-watch falls.
From police officers to NFL mascots, it seems everyone is doing it.
“We did it," said Deonte Boyd.
Deonte Boyd didn't exactly do it himself but he is the man behind the camera. He lives in Ohio and said he and his friends have organized the so-called challenges.
“Every day it got deeper and deeper and deeper and next thing you know on the fourth day we probably had two hundred or three hundred people out there," Boyd said.
Boyd films the flops for his YouTube channel.
“I dropped a YouTube video yesterday. It got like a thousand [views]," Boyd said.
Boyd said volunteers willingly climb the mountain of milk crates for money.
“We had someone win $900, $600, $1,200," Boyd said.
But Dr. Moneesh Bhow, medical director for the emergency department at Banner University, said the price most will pay is a trip to the emergency room.
TikTok, where many of these videos have been posted, is making an effort to remove the viral videos and has disabled the ability to search for the term "milk crate challenge."
“You’re definitely looking at potential head injuries, C spine injuries and some of them are landing on their back as well so you’re looking at back and spinal cord injuries. Then you have the soft tissue injuries and broken bones," said Dr. Bhow.
Bhow's advice is simple.
“Do not do it," he said.
Boyd said one woman broke her ribs and another man fractured his wrist. He said nobody is forced to participate. He and his friends are planning another milk crate meetup this weekend.
“We’ll probably do it again this weekend because of the response that we’re getting from it," Boyd said.
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