The TikTok trend #droppingthingsonmyfoot has been used on hundreds of videos, leading to a podiatrist warning participants they risk “a lifetime of pain and disability.
Objects such as air fryers, toasters and vacuum cleaners have been used in the videos, with creators ranking how painful each item is.
Luke Pilling, from Bolton, received more than 3.8million views for a video which shows him jumping around his room in pain after dropping a toaster, air fryer and computer monitor on his lowest extremity.
Asked why he decided to join the trend, the 19-year-old sales adviser said: “Curiosity and just because it was funny.
“I love making content that I just like laughing at myself.”
However he said a video of him dropping a drill on his foot was taken down after it breached TikTok community guidelines.
He believes the trend has become so popular because “people like seeing people in pain”, but urged others to consider the weight of objects involved.
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He said: “I think it’s funny when you’re going to drop something that’s moderately going to hurt, but if it’s genuinely going to injure you and take up the NHS’s time, then that’s when it gets a bit too much.”
But lecturer in podiatric medicine at the University of Galway, Dr Benjamin Bullen, said the trend could risk lasting damage.
He said: “I find the viral #droppingthingsonmyfeet TikTok trend troubling and strongly encourage readers not to engage in this risky challenge.
“TikTok is particularly popular among young people, who may be setting themselves up for a lifetime of pain and disability, if they significantly damage the nerves, bones and joints of their feet.”
Reece Brierley, from Manchester, convinced himself initially he would not recreate the trend, but said he wanted “to know how it felt”.
The 25-year-old TikToker shared a video of him wincing in pain after dropping his dog, an old toaster and a vacuum cleaner on his foot, which received more than 337,000 views and ranked the toaster a score of seven out of 10 for pain.
Mr Brierley, who works in car detailing, believes social media users enjoy watching people’s real-time reaction to pain.
He said: “If you follow a person, you follow them for them and their personality.
“If you’re just being you when things land on your feet and your reactions are quite funny, and people already like it, people will just watch the trend for you and your reaction.”
While he found the trend funny, Mr Brierley acknowledged the activity is “pretty stupid”, adding: “I do not advise anybody to do it.”
