Observer-reported outcome measures showed that patients ’ driving abilities often are impaired when wearing an immobilizing cast above or below the elbow or a shoulder sling on their dominant arm .
Conclusions The available evidence provides a best-case scenario for when patients can return to driving .
Survey data suggest that patients are returning to driving before observer-reported outcome measures have normalized , indicating that physicians should tell patients to wait longer before driving .
Background Patients often ask their doctors when they can safely return to driving after orthopaedic injuries and procedures , but the data regarding this topic are diverse and sometimes conflicting .
Some studies provide observer-reported outcome measures , such as brake response time or simulators , to estimate when patients can safely resume driving after surgery , and patient survey data describing when patients report a return to driving , but they do not all agree .
We performed a systematic review and quality appraisal for available data regarding when patients are safe to resume driving after common orthopaedic surgeries and injuries affecting the ability to drive .
Questions / purpose sBased on the available evidence , we sought to determine when patients can safely return to driving after ( 1 ) lower extremity orthopaedic surgery and injuries ; ( 2 ) upper extremity orthopaedic surgery and injuries ; and ( 3 ) spine surgery .
Effect of knee brace type on braking response time during automobile driving.
PURPOSE To assess driving ability ( brake response time [ BRT ] ) with commonly used knee braces . METHODS Sixty-four healthy participants ( 32 women and 32 men ) participated in our study . BRT was assessed using a custom-made driving simulator . We assessed BRT for 5 different commonly used knee braces ( right leg ) used in 9 different setting s : without a knee brace ( control group ) ; with a typical postoperative knee brace with adjustable range of motion ( ROM ) and the setting s of 0 ° to 30 ° , 0 ° to 60 ° , 0 ° to 90 ° , and 20 ° to 90 ° ( extension and flexion ) ; and with an unloading knee brace for moderate to severe unicompartmental osteoarthritis , an orthosis for ligament instabilities , a knee brace for patellofemoral disorders , and an elastic knee b and age . RESULTS The 64 participants ( mean age , 33.5 years ) showed significantly impaired BRT with the typical postoperative brace set at an ROM of 0 ° to 30 ° ( 673 milliseconds , P < .001 ) , ROM of 0 ° to 60 ° ( 629 milliseconds , P < .001 ) , ROM of 0 ° to 90 ° ( 607 milliseconds , P = .001 ) , and ROM of 20 ° to 90 ° ( 602 milliseconds , P = .005 ) compared with the control group . However , no such impaired BRT was found for any other investigated knee brace . CONCLUSIONS Right-sided ROM-restricting knee braces involve significant impairment of BRT in healthy participants . No such prolonged BRT was found for a patellofemoral realignment brace , a ligament brace , a valgus/osteoarthritis brace , or an elastic knee b and age . However , our findings should be viewed in light of the limitations of the study , which are ( 1 ) the lack of a defined decrease in BRT that could lead to an accident and ( 2 ) uncertainty of whether the statistical differences are also clinical ly important . LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level II , lesser- quality r and omized controlled trial
Observer-reported outcome measures showed that patients ’ driving abilities often are impaired when wearing an immobilizing cast above or below the elbow or a shoulder sling on their dominant arm .
Conclusions The available evidence provides a best-case scenario for when patients can return to driving .
Survey data suggest that patients are returning to driving before observer-reported outcome measures have normalized , indicating that physicians should tell patients to wait longer before driving .
Background Patients often ask their doctors when they can safely return to driving after orthopaedic injuries and procedures , but the data regarding this topic are diverse and sometimes conflicting .
Some studies provide observer-reported outcome measures , such as brake response time or simulators , to estimate when patients can safely resume driving after surgery , and patient survey data describing when patients report a return to driving , but they do not all agree .
We performed a systematic review and quality appraisal for available data regarding when patients are safe to resume driving after common orthopaedic surgeries and injuries affecting the ability to drive .
Questions / purpose sBased on the available evidence , we sought to determine when patients can safely return to driving after ( 1 ) lower extremity orthopaedic surgery and injuries ; ( 2 ) upper extremity orthopaedic surgery and injuries ; and ( 3 ) spine surgery .