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 .
Measurement of brake response time after right anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
OBJECTIVE Recommendations on safe driving after  anterior cruciate ligament ( ACL ) reconstruction  have been largely intuitive . We studied brake response time in patients who participated in outpatient rehabilitation after right ACL reconstruction .  DESIGN Prospect i ve , repeated measures design comparing 14 patients post-ACL reconstruction with 21 subjects with normal knees . INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The following measures were assessed every 2 weeks for 10 weeks :  brake response time , 6-meter walk time , knee range of motion , pain , and joint effusion . Statistical testing used analysis of covariance with repeated measures . Significant variables were analyzed separately and post hoc tests conducted using the least squares differences method . Both groups were compared with published norms from the American Automobile Association . RESULTS No significant gender differences across main effects were detected . Brake response times for men improved significantly after week 6 ( p < .05 ) and week 10 ( p < .01 ) . Brake response times for women in the ACL treatment group matched controls at 6 weeks . Six-meter walk times for control subjects were faster than those for the ACL group preoperatively ( 2.6 sec vs 5.5 sec ) , but equalized by week 6 . CONCLUSIONS After right ACL reconstruction , brake reaction times of rehabilitated men and women matched those of established controls after 4 to 6 weeks . Measuring brake response times during rehabilitation may ensure that individual patients return to driving in a safe and timely manner
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 .