• Prosthet Orthot Int · Aug 2017

    Effect of hip braces on brake response time: Repeated measures designed study.

    • Dietmar Dammerer, Cornelia Waidmann, Dennis G Huber, Martin Krismer, Christian Haid, and Michael C Liebensteiner.
    • Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
    • Prosthet Orthot Int. 2017 Aug 1; 41 (4): 373-378.

    BackgroundThe question whether or not a patient with a hip brace should drive a car is of obvious importance because the advice given to patients to resume driving is often anecdotal as few scientific data are available on this specific subject.ObjectivesTo assess driving ability (brake response time) with commonly used hip braces.Study DesignRepeated measures design.MethodsBrake response time was assessed under six conditions: (1) without a brace (control), (2) with a typical postoperative hip brace with adjustable range of motion and the settings: unrestricted, (3) flexion limited to 70°, (4) extension blocked at 20° hip flexion, (5) both flexion and extension limited (20°/70°) and (6) an elastic hip bandage. Brake response time was assessed using a custom-made driving simulator as used in previous studies. The participants were a convenience sample of able-bodied participants.ResultsA total of 70 participants (35 women and 35 men) participated in our study. Mean age was 31.1 (standard deviation: 10.6; range: 21.7-66.4) years. A significant within-subject effect for brake response time was found ( p = 0.009), but subsequent post hoc analyses revealed no significant differences between control and the other settings.ConclusionBased on our findings, it does not seem mandatory to recommend driving abstinence for patients wearing a hip orthosis. We suggest that our results be interpreted with caution, because (1) an underlying pathological hip condition needs to be considered, (2) the ability to drive a car safely is multifactorial and brake response time is only one component thereof and (3) brake response time measurements were performed only with healthy participants. Clinical relevance Hip braces are used in the context of joint-preserving and prosthetic surgery of the hip. Therefore, clinicians are confronted with the question whether to allow driving a car with the respective hip brace or not. Our data suggest that hip braces do not impair brake response time.

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