What to watch when you walk your dog

Adapted from BMJ 13 May 23

Walking a well behaved dog in the countryside, green space or park can be a real joy. Dog owners are less lonely, make more friends, are fitter and slimmer than those who don’t walk their dog regularly. They can, however, sustain injuries in the process.

Researchers from John Hopkins University say that most accidents occur due to leads. If a walker is pulled forcefully, particularly when not expecting it, they can fall, and also their legs can get tangled up in leads. Therefore using short, non-retractable leads are suggested for all age groups of walkers. Those over the age of 65 are recommended to consider resistance and balance exercises to minimise falls. Older adults and women are particularly likely to be injured.

The researchers looked at 20 years of data from one hundred emergency departments in the USA. They found that 422,659 people had been injured in dog/lead related accidents. More than half the injuries were musculo-skeletal including fractures, muscle tears and abrasions. The commonest sites were the fingers, traumatic brain injury and shoulders.