Injured dog walkers could be costing NHS £23m a year

Injured canine walkers could beryllium costing the NHS astir £23m a year, a survey suggests.

Hand and wrist injuries from a yanked pb are said to beryllium the astir communal mishap.

Experts from Raigmore Hospital successful Inverness and Singapore's Sengkang Hospital looked astatine the "understudied topic" by reviewing 5 US studies of astir 500,000 dog-walking injuries.

Women made up three-quarters of the injuries, and 31% of the cases were successful over-65s.

Researchers - penning successful the diary Injury Prevention - recovered that breached fingers were the astir communal injury.

Looking astatine the UK's colonisation of astir 8.5 cardinal dogs - 1 for each 7 oregon 8 radical - the survey estimated the outgo of fixing the fractures suffered by unfortunate owners.

"While digit fractures were the astir often reported injury, the outgo investigation successful this reappraisal focused connected distal radius [wrist] fractures owed to their important economical impact," said researchers.

"We estimated the imaginable yearly outgo of canine walking-related wrist fractures successful the UK to transcend £23m."

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However, they said the full economical outgo would beryllium bigger owed to nonaccomplishment of productivity from immoderate radical needing clip disconnected work.

"Preventative measures, including safer leash practices and nationalist information guidance, should beryllium implemented to trim wounded risk," the survey suggested.

As good arsenic teaching "optimal canine walking practices", it besides recommended enforcing due canine grooming to minimise the chances of pets hurting their quality companion.