
While walking a dog provides older Americans with a valuable outlet for regular, physical activity, a Penn Medicine study has shown that fractures related to these walks have more than doubled between 2004 and 2017 in patients 65 and older. In this population, 78 percent of the fractures occurred in women, with hip and upper extremity breaks being the most common. This study was published today in JAMA Surgery.
The rise in injuries in this population is a result of two trends, the researchers say: increased pet ownership and a greater emphasis, in recent years, on physical activity at older ages.
"Dog walking, which has repeatedly demonstrated social, emotional and physical health benefits, is a popular and frequently recommended activity for many older Americans seeking new ways to stay active," said the study's lead author Kevin Pirruccio, a second-year medical student in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "This study highlights that while there are undoubtedly pros to dog walking, patients' risks for falls must be factored into lifestyle recommendations in an effort to minimize such injuries."
Link to read rest of article
We normally put articles from Science Daily straight up on Daily Dog News, however,we wanted to put forward a different perspective. Being the dogy diva's that we are, we felt that this article was unfair to dogs, and could actually reduce the number of people, of advanced years (our wise one's!) walking their dogs and viewing this activity as dangerous. This would be a great pity as a lovely walk in nature is as much of a tonic to dogs as it is to humans. Yes, of course there are dangers associated with our wise one's walking dogs, but as one of our students who gave their opinions on this article so eloquently said "To state thik you Anneke - well said!
From a statistical point of view we cannot fault the findings, most people over the age of 65 are at risk of increased fractures as a result of the normal ageing process. We cannot help wondering whether a similar study done on persons in this age group and are also owners of cats, would perhaps yield a similar result. (We have all encountered the cat who likes nothing better than trying to trip us up at meal times.)
Be that as it may where there is a perceived risk we must offer a solution. We have offered a few ideas below.
ALSO, THESE APPLY TO ALL PEOPLE WALKING DOGS - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE OLD TO HURT YOURSELF!
The rise in injuries in this population is a result of two trends, the researchers say: increased pet ownership and a greater emphasis, in recent years, on physical activity at older ages.
"Dog walking, which has repeatedly demonstrated social, emotional and physical health benefits, is a popular and frequently recommended activity for many older Americans seeking new ways to stay active," said the study's lead author Kevin Pirruccio, a second-year medical student in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "This study highlights that while there are undoubtedly pros to dog walking, patients' risks for falls must be factored into lifestyle recommendations in an effort to minimize such injuries."
Link to read rest of article
We normally put articles from Science Daily straight up on Daily Dog News, however,we wanted to put forward a different perspective. Being the dogy diva's that we are, we felt that this article was unfair to dogs, and could actually reduce the number of people, of advanced years (our wise one's!) walking their dogs and viewing this activity as dangerous. This would be a great pity as a lovely walk in nature is as much of a tonic to dogs as it is to humans. Yes, of course there are dangers associated with our wise one's walking dogs, but as one of our students who gave their opinions on this article so eloquently said "To state thik you Anneke - well said!
From a statistical point of view we cannot fault the findings, most people over the age of 65 are at risk of increased fractures as a result of the normal ageing process. We cannot help wondering whether a similar study done on persons in this age group and are also owners of cats, would perhaps yield a similar result. (We have all encountered the cat who likes nothing better than trying to trip us up at meal times.)
Be that as it may where there is a perceived risk we must offer a solution. We have offered a few ideas below.
ALSO, THESE APPLY TO ALL PEOPLE WALKING DOGS - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE OLD TO HURT YOURSELF!
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