Driving Restrictions After THR Eased

A major concern for patients contemplating hip joint replacement surgery is how long before they can resume the activities of a normal life. Chief among those “normal life” activities is driving a car. Traditionally, doctors have recommended that patients experience from six to eight weeks of recovery before getting behind the wheels of their cars. That restriction is about to change.

Orthopedic surgeon Victor Hugo Hernandez, M.D. and fellow researchers evaluated 38 patients who underwent right total hip replacement (THR) between 2013 and 2014. Before their surgery each patient took the Brake Reaction Test (BRT) which measured their brake time reaction. This provided each patient with his baseline reaction time. The patients also agreed to be retested at two, four and six weeks following their surgery. They would be allowed to drive when their postoperative reaction time was equal to or less than their preoperative baseline reaction time.

Of the 38 patients, 33 (87%) reached their baseline time within two weeks. The remaining patients (13%) reached their baseline at four weeks. There were no differences with respect to age or gender in terms of driving readiness.

Hernandez said, “We found that brake reaction time returned to baseline or better in the vast majority of patients undergoing contemporary THR by two weeks following surgery, and all patients achieved a safe brake reaction time according to nationally recognized guidelines. The findings have allowed us to encourage patients to re-evaluate their driving ability as soon as two weeks after THR.”

Hernandez did note that the study results “are based on our particular population, and caution should be taken in translating these results to the regular population.”