Healthbeat by Deirdre Cox BakerDoctor: Don’t drive with a cast
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 7:03 amI smiled when I saw the e-mail from a medical expert at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Kurt Rongstad says folks who wind up with a cast on their right foot should not drive.
What, I thought , if you had a torn Achilles tendon and your foot just hurt? What if you sprained your ankle?
No word on those conditions. But yes, I’m the one with the now pretty-much-healed Achilles tendon. That injury happened about four years ago and I haven’t done a great job of following expert advice to solve the injury. For example, I continued to drive, and just did it through the pain.
That is not recommended, of course. Casts, orthopedic boots or “cam walkers” slow braking time enough that driving with them is unsafe. The doctor said he knows this is an unpopular opinion. “It’s one of the biggest concerns people have,” he said. “They want to know how long they’ll need a chauffeur.”
The doctor couldn’t find published data to support his position, so he ran a field test. He timed 42 subjects on how quickly they could lift their right food off the gas pedal after a light flashed. It took about 25 percent longer for them while wearing a cast, compared to regular shoes. They did better if they wore a wedge-type orthopedic shoe, common for patients after bunion surgery.
They also did better when using their left foot on the brake, but Rongstad said that’s not safe, either, for most people. He wants to improve his driving/reaction time test, conduct a full analysis of results and publish them in a medical journal.