Return to driving after hip arthroscopy

Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique that allows the patient to mobilise immediately, from the first day, and in many cases not even to spend a night in hospital. There are, however, many everyday activities for which both the patient and the surgeon always wonder what the most appropriate time is to resume them after the arthroscopy. One of these activities is driving a car. While it seems reasonable that a patient should be perfectly able to drive within the first few days after hip arthroscopy, there are various factors that need to be assessed before such a decision is taken.
In a recent study published in the journal “Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine”, braking performance was assessed using a modern driving simulator after arthroscopy of the right hip. The study was prospective and comprised five driving sessions on the simulator during which the relevant measurements were taken.
In total, measurements were made in 14 patients who had undergone arthroscopy of the right hip and who were compared with a control group of 17 participants. The patients drove on the simulator preoperatively in order to establish a baseline for comparison, and then two, four, six and eight weeks postoperatively. The control group did not undergo any surgery.
During use of the driving simulator, measurements were taken of initial reaction time, throttle release time, foot movement time and brake travel time.
The authors concluded that the findings of this study suggest that patients can return to driving a car two weeks after surgery following an arthroscopic operation on the right hip.
Source: Momaya AM1, Stavrinos D, McManus B, Wittig SM, Emblom B, Estes R. Return to Driving After Hip Arthroscopy. Clin J Sport Med. 2017 Jul 11