{"id":4797,"date":"2025-07-01T04:21:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=4797"},"modified":"2025-07-01T04:21:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:21:30","slug":"uk-dog-walkers-face-23-million-annual-cost-from-hand-and-wrist-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/?p=4797","title":{"rendered":"UK Dog Walkers Face \u00a323 Million Annual Cost from Hand and Wrist Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A new study published in&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1136\/ip-2025-045629\"><em>Injury Prevention<\/em><\/a> estimates that hand and wrist injuries among dog walkers in the UK cost the NHS over \u00a323 million annually. Women and adults over 65 are most at risk, often due to being pulled by leashes. The research highlights the growing trend of dog-related injuries amid rising pet ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study reviewed five research papers involving 491,373 patients, 74% of whom were women. Approximately 31% of participants were over 65, a group particularly vulnerable to fractures due to factors like osteoporosis and balance issues. Among the 491,400 injuries analyzed, 22.5% affected the hand and wrist, with finger fractures (31%) and wrist fractures (25%) being the most common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leash-pulling incidents accounted for 68.5% of direct injuries, while tripping over leashes or dogs contributed to 20%. Researchers noted that dog walking itself isn\u2019t riskier than other activities, but emphasized the disproportionate impact on older adults and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors stated, \u201cAlthough dog-walking isn\u2019t the leading cause of hand and wrist injuries, it represents a significant and preventable burden, especially for older and female populations.\u201d They added, \u201cSafer leash practices, like avoiding finger-wrapping or retractable leashes, could reduce these injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study underscores the need for public awareness and preventive measures, such as leash-holding techniques and dog training, to mitigate injury risks. With dog ownership on the rise, addressing these safety concerns could alleviate both healthcare costs and personal harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study published in&nbsp;Injury Prevention estimates that hand and wrist injuries among dog walkers in the UK cost the NHS over \u00a323 million annually. Women and adults over 65 are most at risk, often due to being pulled by leashes. The research highlights the growing trend of dog-related injuries amid rising pet ownership. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1565],"tags":[1368,726,1566,1091],"class_list":["post-4797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-medicine","tag-biology","tag-health","tag-health-medicine","tag-public-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4798,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions\/4798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scientificworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}