A broken foot used to mean rest. Now it can mean millions of views

As recovery from an injury morphs into online entertainment on social media, it risks encouraging behaviour that can delay healing or make the problem worse.

- Craig Gwynne

When Kim Kardashian glided into the launch party of her NYC Skims boutique on a knee scooter, a mobility aid for people with lower leg injuries — stiletto on one foot, designer cast on the other — she was not just managing an injury. She was creating content.

And she is far from alone in doing this.

In 2024, rapper Kid Cudi turned his own broken foot into a viral storyline, posting updates of himself on crutches and in a surgical boot after a mishap at the Coachella festival in California. These high-profile injuries do not just invite sympathy; they generate style points, followers and millions of views.

But as injury recovery morphs into online entertainment, it raises an important question: Is this trend helping people heal or encouraging risky behaviour that can delay recovery?

Open any social media feed and you will likely stumble across videos of people hobbling through supermarkets, dancing on crutches, or sweating through workouts in a medical boot. Hashtags such as #BrokenFootClub and #InjuryRecovery have spawned thriving online communities where users share advice, frustrations and recovery milestones. For many, rehab has become a public performance, complete with triumphant comeback narratives.

And it is not just celebrities. All sorts of people are turning their injuries, from hiking sprains to post-surgery recoveries, into digital diaries. Some offer helpful tips or emotional support, while others focus on fast-tracked progress, sometimes glossing over the slower, necessary steps that true healing demands.

A broken foot used to mean rest. Now it can mean millions of views.