STUDY: DOG WALKING CAN UNLEASH INJURIES NEEDING ER ATTENTION
Fractured fingers, shoulder sprains and head injuries are common reasons people visit the emergency room. Now new research has identified a potential culprit — the family dog.
Johns Hopkins University researchers found that over a period of nearly two decades, more than 422,000 U.S. adults were treated in ERs for injuries suffered while walking leashed dogs. Women and people ages 40 to 64 made up most of the patients.
The number of injuries increased from 2001 to 2020, according to data analyzed by the researchers.
The idea for the study came from experiences in lead author Edward McFarland’s clinic, Maxson said. McFarland, a professor of shoulder and elbow surgery and orthopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, treated many patients with shoulder injuries resulting from dog walking.
Finger fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and shoulder sprains and strains were the three mostdiagnosed injuries in ERs caused by walking dogs with leashes from 2001 to 2020, the study showed. The study cited the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Michael Levine, an associate professor of emergency medicine at UCLA, said the recent findings are consistent with what he sees in the ER.
Such injuries occur when dog walkers have the leash wrapped around their fingers or wrist and the dog lunges, said Levine, who was not involved in the study. It can result in tendon injuries, bone fractures — in fingers, arms or hips — and head injuries, he said.
“It happens daily or every other day that we’ll see someone in the emergency department who got hurt walking their dog,” he said.
More than 24 million unintentional injuries were seen in emergency departments in the United States in 2020 — the most recent year for which numbers were available — according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The traumatic brain injuries identified in the study ranged from concussions to nonconcussive internal head injuries such as brain contusions and brain bleeds. Women and older adults were at an increased risk for more serious injuries, with those older than 65 being about 60 percent more likely to have a brain injury, Maxson said.
More dog-walking injuries seen in ERs
The number of injuries caused by dog walking more than quadrupled during the study period, with about 7,200 in 2001 and about 32,000 in 2020.
Pet ownership has been increasing in recent years, data shows, and bone fractures among older adults have been on the rise from dog walking as older adults have tried to stay active, previous research has shown. Hospitals have also started being more specific with diagnostic coding, Levine said.
“So it’s not that there’s necessarily a true increase in the frequency of, say, a wrist fracture,” but more-precise diagnoses, such as a wrist fracture because of contact with a dog, he said.
How to make leashed dog walking safer
People should take precautions when walking their dogs, said Karen B. London, a professional dog trainer and applied animal behaviorist at Northern Arizona University. She suggests:
• Using front-attaching harnesses to help keep the dog from pulling.
• Choosing shorter leashes — 6 to 8 feet long — to avoid tripping on them.
• Steering clear of retractable leashes, which can injure both dogs and their owners.
• Avoiding places where a dog is known to be distracted, such as a schoolyard.
• Carrying a squeaky toy or treats to help the dog regain focus when distractions occur.
“But I really think the biggest thing you can do is training,” she said. “Teaching a dog to walk nicely on a leash is really helpful.”