Recovery guide
Driving after knee replacement: when is it safe?
"When can I drive?" is one of the first questions people ask after knee replacement. The answer depends on which knee, which car, and how you're recovering. Here is what the research shows.
The short answer
- After a right knee replacement, braking speed was back to its pre-surgery level by about 4 weeks in pooled studies.1
- After a left knee replacement, it was back as early as about 2 weeks.1
- Braking time is only one part of safe driving. Pain medicine, strength and range of motion matter too.3
- Your surgeon makes the final call, and you shouldn't drive while taking opioid pain medicine.
What braking studies show
Researchers test readiness to drive by measuring how fast someone can move their foot from the gas to the brake and press it, compared with before surgery.
- A review of 9 studies (330 patients) found braking time returned to normal by about 4 weeks after right knee replacement and as early as 2 weeks after left knee replacement.1
- A larger 2021 meta-analysis (12 studies, 368 patients) found the time to move the foot to the brake was slower at 2 and 4 weeks but back to normal by 6 weeks. By 3 months and 1 year, overall braking was faster than before surgery, probably because the painful arthritic knee was no longer slowing them down.2
Why right versus left matters: in an automatic car, your right foot does all the braking. A left knee replacement has little effect on braking unless you drive a manual and need the clutch.
Braking isn't the whole picture
A review of driving after orthopedic surgery stressed that normal braking time is a best case. Strength, range of motion and the use of opioid pain medicine also need to be considered. It also found that in surveys, many patients started driving before their braking tests had returned to normal.3
Before you drive, you should be able to:
- Get in and out of the car without help
- Press the brake hard and quickly, without hesitating from pain
- Turn to check blind spots
- Drive without opioid pain medicine in your system
Try a short drive in an empty parking lot with someone else in the car first. Check with your car insurer if you're unsure whether your policy has rules after surgery.
Riding as a passenger
You can ride as a passenger from the day you go home. Pushing the seat back and reclining slightly makes getting in easier. On longer trips, stop every hour or so to walk and move your ankles, which helps with swelling.
Questions to ask your surgeon
- When do you expect I can drive, given which knee you're replacing?
- Does it matter that my car is an automatic or a manual?
- How long after my last opioid dose should I wait?
See also the recovery timeline.
Sources
- Hartman J, et al. Braking time following total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review. J Arthroplasty. 2018;33(1):284-290.e1. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2017.08.012
- Giannoudis V, et al. Doctor when can I drive? Braking response after knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of brake reaction time. Knee. 2021;30:214-240. doi:10.1016/j.knee.2021.03.013
- DiSilvestro KJ, et al. When can I drive after orthopaedic surgery? A systematic review. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2016;474(12):2557-2570. doi:10.1007/s11999-016-5007-9