[Maria]

Janene,
Back about 7 years ago before I stopped working and started pain meds and ESIs to lumbar spine I frequently felt that my foot couldn't feel the brake or gas that well (pedals) and that I would lose power in my right leg when driving for about 20 mins or so and I'd actually grip my leg to hold it and rub it above the knee to make sure it was OK. I would stop the car and walk around as well to get it to feel "normal".

This went on for sometime and my OSS said it was compression on the L5S1 nerve root while sitting and flexing my foot on the pedals.

The odd thing is that I rarely feel it now, altho every once in a while and yet I drive greater distances and more often. It's low back pain that also limits where I drive and how much I drive mostly now and I certainly wouldn't say those symptoms are actually gone, perhaps muted./masked by pain meds now..

I stopped driving only for a short period of time or limited myself to short distances and places I knew very well and wouldn't get lost driving around for any length of time.

One very major change was that I stopped driving on the freeway altogether. Didn't want that to occur while stuck in traffic somewhere or during any distance of drive. Over the years tho I've just become afraid to drive on the freeway so ?? not sure if that was the best course of action tho it certainly seemed so for the time all that was going on.

I've had various opinions and some docs say stop driving while one Physical Therapist told me that he thought with pain meds and ESIs I probably would feel better and be able to drive and he was actually right.

Do what you feel most safe doing though and make sure you are evaluated by a top notch Spine doc~