[To whom are roller-skaters harmful? A questionnaire among roller-skaters].

The number of roller-skaters in Denmark has increased visibly during recent years. We found a high incidence of serious injuries among patients (n = 112) who attended our emergency department from June 14th to October 14th 1996. One third of the patients were diagnosed with a fracture. Increasing numbers of the injured roller-skaters use protective gear, mostly wrist splints (37%). Wrist splints probably reduce the number of fractures, but do not completely eliminate the risk of fracture. It seems that roller-skaters are less harmful to other pedestrians than previously assumed.