s the use of in-line skates has increased, it appears that the number of injuries also is on the rise. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns that in-line skating — a popular sport — can be hazardous if skaters don’t wear helmets and other protective equipment. Skaters also face risks if they don’t learn to skate and stop safely.

“As in any sport, whether it’s bicycling or in-line skating, you need safety instruction and protective gear,” says Patti Rhynders, manager of injury prevention and education outreach at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas.

Nearly half the in-line skaters who showed up in emergency rooms weren’t wearing any safety gear when they were hurt, federal statistics show. Their most common injuries: fractures, sprains and strains of the wrist and lower arm, often caused by trying to break a fall.

Learning to go with a fall is a worthwhile skill, experts say. To avoid broken bones, try to roll with the fall, coming down on your arm and your side.

Since it’s tough to stop quickly on skates, you can help head off falls by knowing where you’ll be five seconds down the road.

Here’s one more tip for parents who skate: Wear your own protective gear, too. “You have to practice what you preach. You can’t ask them to wear helmets when you don’t,” Rhynders says.

Safe on Skates

• Get instruction — especially in how to stop safely.
  
• Always wear a CPSC-certified helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards and gloves.
  
• Skate on smooth, paved surfaces. Avoid uneven or broken pavement, water, oil, sand, gravel and dirt. Always skate on playgrounds and in parks, not on roads or sidewalks.
  
• Don’t “truck-surf” or “skitch,” holding onto a vehicle and skating alongside or behind it.
  
• Don’t skate at dusk or at night.
  
• Check and maintain your equipment regularly.
  
• Don’t wear a radio or anything else that may interfere with hearing or vision.
  
• As with all exercise, warm up before you skate.
  
• Avoid skating in crowded walkways, and yield to pedestrians.
  
• Use common sense when you’re using your skates.