Return to driving following rotator cuff repair: 23%, 70% and 99% at 1, 2 and 6 months

To report the rate and time of return to driving during the first 12 months following rotator cuff repair (RCR), and to determine the influence of preoperative factors on return to driving.

The authors retrospectively collected the records of patients that underwent RCR for superior (isolated supraspinatus), anterosuperior (supraspinatus + subscapularis), posterosuperior (supraspinatus + infraspinatus), and 3-tendon tears between 2021 and 2022. Patients were excluded if they had bilateral RCR, previous ipsilateral shoulder surgery, or any discomfort at the contralateral shoulder, and a total of 151 patients (151 shoulders) met the inclusion criteria. Of the initial cohort of 151 patients, six did not drive, eight required reoperation, and nine were lost to follow-up. This left a final cohort of 128 patients aged 59.1 ± 7.6 years (range, 35-79), of which most were males (61%), and drove manual cars (70%). Most patients had a superior tear (53%) and had their right side operated (69%). The authors noted patient demographics, surgical data, and pre- and postoperative driving details, as well as the Constant score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and Subjective Shoulder Value (SSV) at 6 and 12 months.

Following rotator cuff repair 23% of patients returned to driving at 1 month, 70% at 2 months and 99% at 6 months. The time to return to driving less than 5 km of 7.3 ± 4.8 weeks (range, 0.5-26). Univariable analysis revealed that earlier return to driving was associated with male sex (β, -2.609; p = 0.002), automatic cars (β -2.050, p = 0.027) and distance driven per week (β, -0.004, p = 0.043).

Rotator cuff repair enables 23% of patients to return to driving at 1 month, 70% at 2 months, and 99% at 6 months. Male sex, patients with automatic cars, and distance driven per week preoperatively were indicators for earlier return to driving.

Level IV, retrospective case series.