Driving w/ right ATR w/o boot 4 weeks post-op
4 weeks after my operation and after the first 3 PT sessions I felt good enough to try to drive with my injured leg. It is totally against the doctor and the therapist but I do not feel the physiological danger of it (let’s not talk about the legal side for now).
I tried driving with my left foot 2 weeks post op but did not find it safe so I skipped it. So now that the cast is off and I am getting somewhat comfortable with the boot, I decided to try driving once again. My doc said that (after ~2 weeks in the boot) most people drive with the boots but I did not find it comfortable or safe enough so I decided to give it a shot without it. First, I tried barefoot but then I could not rest my right heel on the floor so I put on a shoe (I was in two shoe at 4 weeks…:))
To be honest it felt totally safe. It is easier than PT… I had no problem with the gas pedal and I could easily apply enough force to the break. Modern cars have such sensitive breaks (that is why I could not drive with my left foot…). In any case, I did not see any danger of rerupturing my tendon or feel that I could not apply enough force to the break. It was only a little difficult to flex my ankle enough but I moved the seat back and then it felt like a nice PT. Obviously, I will not drive long distances but at least now I don’t need a ‘babysitter’ every time I need to get something done.
Have anyone else tried driving w/o a boot so early? Could anyone make the case for driving in the boot instead? Anyone heard any stories?
Let me know! First and formost I want to stay safe but I did not feel any significant danger of driving w/o the boot as long as I step right back into it as soon as I park the car…