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 .
Driving reaction time before and after anterior cervical fusion for disc herniation: a preliminary study
Purpose Reduced driving reaction time ( DRT ) has already been studied in context with lumbar disc surgeries . Data on whether cervical spine pathologies impair driving abilities are still lacking . In addition , no return-to-driving recommendations after anterior cervical fusion procedures have been published . Therefore , we assessed DRT before and after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion . Methods We performed a prospect i ve study with 12 patients ( mean age 47.2 years ; female 7 , male 5 ) . DRT as well as arm and neck pain were evaluated before surgery , on the day before discharge from hospital and at the 4–6-week follow-up examinations . 31 healthy subjects were tested for DRT  as a control group . Results All patients showed significant improvement in DRT in the longitudinal course ( p < 0.05 ) . DRT was 601 ms ( median , IQR : 63 ) before surgery , which was reduced to 580 ms ( median , IQR : 112 ) on the day before discharge from hospital and to 532 ms ( median , IQR : 48 ) at follow-up examination . Control subjects had a driving reaction time of 487 ms ( median , IQR : 116 ) , which differed significantly from that of patients at all three testing times ( p < 0.05 ) . VAS for arm and neck pain showed significant improvement ( p < 0.05 ) . Conclusion The present results show a positive effect of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion on driving safety . Based on our data we state that it appears to be safe to resume driving after discharge from hospital . However , patients scheduled to undergo anterior cervical discectomy and fusion  should be informed about increased DRT as compared to healthy individuals
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 .