Are you one of these wondering whether you can drive after a hip surgery or replacement? As a passenger or a driver? This article will help answer some of your questions.
Happy reading!😃
Any questions? remarks? Let’s meet in the comments section at the end of this article.🙏
Last updated: June, 2024. Written by Juliet Semakula a diagnostic radiographer
Disclaimer: no affiliate links.
▶️Can you sit in your car right after leaving the hospital after a hip surgery?
After you have had a hip surgery you will stay in hospital for a few days, and you will continue to have medicines to help with the pain.
Physiotherapists and nurses will start to help you walk as soon as possible after the operation so you can go home soon. You will need crutches or a walking frame at first.
They will let you go home if your wound is healing well, and when you can safely get around.
Unless there are specific circumstances, it will be up to you to organise your return home transport or let the staff know if they need to make other transport arrangements for you.
The good news! You can enter and sit in your car from the passenger side when you are discharged from hospital.
However, you cannot drive yourself home after surgery for the reasons I discuss further in this article.
▶️Getting in a car seat following a hip replacement:
You should avoid slumping into low seats, as this can put strain on your new joint.
As car seats vary in height, you should be particularly careful if the passenger seat is situated in a low position.
You could consider elevating the seating position with a cushion or pillow.
Caution! No matter the height of your seat, it can still be difficult getting into a car seat following hip surgery. If you are having trouble, try these steps to help you safely get into your car.
Getting into a car after a hip surgery or replacement guideline.
▶️Do you have the right to a transportation voucher after hip surgery?
Yes, some patients are eligible for non-emergency transport services to and from hospital if your health condition requires additional care and support during the journey.
Here in the UK, we have PTS (patients transport services) which is available in all hospital areas to help support transportation of patients who need assistance in and out of hospital.
I believe this applies to other health facilities in other countries. You can find out what your hospital provides.
If you use your own transport but you are eligible for transport, you may be able to claim for the cost of transport from hospital through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) if you’re referred for specialist NHS treatment.
Always consult your health providers to see what services you are eligible for.
However, it is quite rare to receive a transportation voucher if it is not a medical emergency.
▶️When can you safely resume driving a car after a hip replacement?
Having a major hip surgery will slow your reaction times. It’s a good idea not to drive for at least six weeks after your operation.
When you decide to drive again you should avoid long journeys (over an hour) for six weeks because your hip will feel uncomfortable and stiff.
Most studies done on patients seeking information on when they could return to driving after hip surgery, noted variations and contradictions in the advice given.
It is noted that many patients always develop their own plan for returning to driving after hip surgery.
Generally, as a rule of thumb, you should be able to resume driving about 2 months after your operation.
Some people decide to resume driving earlier, about 3 to 6 weeks after the operation.
For automatic cars you may be able to start driving a bit sooner than six weeks If the operated hip is left because the right hip coordinates the feet pedal.
It is important to note that determining the time to resume driving varies in different patients.
The advice should be individualised, depending on the patient’s recovery and confidence level.
Publications concerning resuming driving after total hip replacement surgery.
Here’s what they say:
The UK National Health Service (NHS) advises that patients can resume driving “when you can bend your knee enough to get in and out of a car and control the car properly.
The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) also provides advice on driving after hip surgery. However, their information is different for each surgery.
The RCS further specifies that the patient should inform their vehicle insurance company if they have had either a hip surgery or they should avoid driving for the first six weeks after surgery, but notes that patients may be able to drive earlier if they have a car with automatic transmission.
There is inconsistency in driving advice provided after surgery. Consequently, patients make their own decisions about how and when to drive and develop strategies to accelerate the process.
Greater clarity is required from healthcare professionals on time frames for driving post-surgery and for advising patients on their responsibilities around informing the DVLA and insurance companies of their surgery.
Nouri 2021
What to take away from this?
Most people who undergo hip surgery feel comfortable driving again 4 to 8 weeks after the operation.
▶️ Why can’t you drive for 6 weeks after hip replacement?
Pointers to think about before you get yourself on the road.
🟢You need to make sure that you can safely control the car and the pedals before your official return to the road.
🟢You should be fully fit to perform an emergency stop.
🟢If you have been prescribed medication to manage pain following your hip replacement or surgery, you should aim to be off that medication before you get behind the wheel because some medication can impair your ability to drive.
Note: when you are medication free, you should also be pain free, as pain can distract from safe driving.
If you are not sure if you are ready to drive, talk to your doctor or physiotherapist for advice.
🟢You can also try a fitness test by doing exercises to test your feet pedal movement.
All you need to do is sit behind the steering wheel and practice pushing the car pedals in and out. If you feel any pain, then you are not yet ready to drive.
▶️ What does the law say about resuming driving after hip surgery or replacement?
As a health care profession in the UK (NHS) we are always made aware of the medico-legal requirements when advising patients about their legal responsibility regarding driving after any surgical procedure.
Advice is always given based on individual needs and conditions.
However, it should be noted that, as driving is a complex skill, the advice given to patients should be individualised.
Nouri 2021:
However, the responsibility for assessing someone is fitness to drive often falls on the individual driver but not the health care professional advice.
It’s up to you to decide if you feel safe to drive, you are not required to inform DVLA unless your doctor informs you that you must.
In the United Kingdom you must ONLY tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if after 3 months of your operation you are still unable to drive.
You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.
▶️What does the law say in other countries, USA, CANADA, after hip surgery?
In the United-States: Each state has its own Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or equivalent agency that sets the rules and regulations for driving with health issues.
You can contact your state department for more reassurance on when you can return to driving.
The Canadian driver fitness programs do not need to know when a driver has experienced surgery and do not assess drivers after surgery.
In these cases, a doctor may rely on best practices to tell a patient, for example, “don’t drive for 6 weeks after your surgery.”
There is inconsistency in driving advice provided after surgery.
As a patient you should make your own decision about how and when to drive and develop a strategy to accelerate the process. This will depend on how you feel with your healing process.
As a healthcare professional, I believe the decision should be based on how you feel before you resume driving because driving is a complex skill individualised to you.
We have come to the end of this article. I hope I have answered some of your questions. I wish you a quick recovery.🙋
Below are some of the resources I have relied on.
📚Sources.
Nouri F, Coole C, Baker P, Drummond A. Return to driving after total hip and knee arthroplasty – the perspective of employed patients. Disabil Rehabil. 2022 Dec;44(25):7811-7817. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2021.1998670. Epub 2021 Nov 9. PMID: 34753365.
Arthritis Research UK. 2015a. Hip replacement surgery information; [cited 2021 Oct 27]. Available from: https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/. Google Scholar
Royal College of Surgeons. 2020; [cited 2021 Oct 27]. Available from:https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/patient-care/recovering-from-surgery/total-hip-replacement/driving/. Google Scholar
DVLA, March. 2016; [cited 2021 Oct 27]. Available from: Assessing fitness to drive: a guide for medical professionals.
Abbas G, Waheed A. Resumption of car driving after total hip replacement. J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong). 2011 Apr;19(1):54-6. doi: 10.1177/230949901101900112. PMID: 21519077.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2021.1998670