A METHOD OF OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT OF REHABILITATION AFTER INGUINAL-HERNIA REPAIR

This study describes an objective measurement of rehabilitation after inguinal hernia repair, by assessing the ability to drive. When perfor ming an emergency stop the reaction time (RT) and the time taken to ac hieve full depression of the brake pedal (MPPT) were measured. The met hod was validated by testing reproducibility of measurements on 10 ind ividuals, with no significant variation found on the different occasio ns. One hundred and seventy-five people (99 women) with valid driving licences were selected at random and assessed. The median age was 50 ( range 19-85) yr and no significant correlation was found between age a nd the measured values. The results obtained were similar to the value s used by the Highway Code to calculate stopping distances (mean MPPT 670 ms; Highway Code 700 ms). It is intended to use this method to stu dy rehabilitation in patients following inguinal hernia repair.