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A study shows that having a dog leashed while on a stroll can cause serious injuries to adults, including brain injury.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University discovered that brain trauma (TBIs), the second-most common injury in adults, was caused by.

The other common injuries are finger fractures, shoulder strains or sprains.

The study revealed that women and adults aged 65 and older were more likely to sustain serious injuries than others from different age groups.

The most common injuries were caused by patients falling when they got tangled, pulled or tripped up while walking a leash attached to their dog.

Researchers also found that women with injuries related to dog walking were 50% more likely to sustain a fracture than men.

Older dog walkers were more than three times more likely to fall and more than twice as likely to have a fracture.

The 20-year study noted that injuries increased by a huge amount over the time period and researchers think this may be due to the rise of dog owners.

‘We also strongly encourage people to leash their dogs’

The team hopes its findings will promote awareness among dog owners and encourage doctors to discuss the possible injuries linked to dog walking.

Senior author Edward McFarland stated: “Clinicians must be aware of the risks associated with these drugs and should communicate them to their patients. This is especially important for women and older people.

“We encourage clinicians to screen for pet ownership, assess fracture and fall risk, and discuss safe dog walking practices at regular health maintenance visits for these vulnerable groups.

“Despite our findings, we also strongly encourage people to leash their dogs wherever it is legally required. ”

Ridge Maxson, the study’s first author, added: “Dog ownership also increased significantly in recent years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Although dog walking is a common daily activity for many adults, few studies have characterised its injury burden. We saw a need for more comprehensive information about these kinds of incidents. “

This study has been published by the National Library of Medicine.