Foot Drop

Can you explain this 'foot drop' to me please?

It is a injury that is associated with damage to the sciatic nerve. The foot hangs in the downward position. I was without feeling or sensation from the right knee down. I have since regained feeling except for the foot. I cannot bend my toes and have little sensation in my right foot. This is the result of a gunshot wound from 1997.

Gunshot wound, damn that sucks but at least you're alive. Sorry I couldn't offer any help on the subject. Funny thing is that I have been having this extremely bad lower back pain that shoots down to my legs. I had it early last summer, then it mostly went away then came back two days ago and seems to get really bad when I get sick and cough a lot. It's so bad I can hardly put my own shoes on. Anyway, someone told me about sciatic nerve problems yesterday and I am thinking that is what this is, as my chiropractor couldn't help me. Anyway, good luck.

Clayton357 :

sorry to hear about your story.


Foot drops is due to peroneal nerve palsy. As a result you have foot drops and numbness between your big toe and 2nd digit.

Peroneal nerve is a branch of sciatic nerve and sciatic nerve comes from l5-s2 nerve roots. Any stimulation to pain fibers (alpha, delta and c fibers) in local area and result in local pain and/or remote site pain which is nerve related. So that's why you have low back pain. Also you might have low back problems at the same time, ie, chronic muscle strain, disc degeneration, scoliosis, lordosis, spinal befida and other problems which can be diagnosed by radiograph exam. But you'd better consult your doctors.


Treatments:
1. Vit. B12 injection.

2. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulators (tens)- for pain management.

3. Acupuncture works great for pain management and it also help for both peripherial and central nerve damage. It might help your condition, at least it is another choice in addition to conventional treatments.

You can contact Dr. Zhu, a national renown neuro-acupuncture doctor with over 40 yrs clinical experiences. You may visit his web at edit

maybe Dr. Zhu can refer you to some doctors in your hometown cuz he has a lot of students in different cities.


Jun song, lac
edit

I have drop foot as a result of tnr. When I woke up from surgery I was not able to move my right foot. I had a second surgery to untrap the peronial nerve at the knee..But too much time had gone by and the damage is permanent. I am very interested in talking to others with the condition to find answers how you are adjusting to this problem.
Thank you for any help you can give me.

Clayton,
I feel your pain. I was wondering how much mobility you have, since our disabilities are really similar, although from different causes and I'm eleven years into it. I wear a custom fit, plastic spring AFO that velcros under the knee and the foot of which fits inside my shoe. I can walk with a hitch. But what kind of shoe would give me the OPTIMAL, most natural gait? The leg is very weak, so weight is an issue. I once owned two pairs of MBT shoes, which were a huge dollar investment, and they were just great for me in every way, except for the anvil effect. Any help out there in the way of recommendations?

hello all,
i have foot drop with my right foot. i found this forum basically to see what people used at night time. i have a brace that is for planters fascia (spelling wrong im sure) that is cumbersome and wanted to see if anyone had suggestions or other options.

i have been seeing a physiatrist for the foot pain for over a year and i've been on lyrica to help reduce the pain. its helped, but not removed the pain. as you probably know, pins and needle feeling in the foot. sleeping is tough and just sitting in a chair with my foot untouched is troublesome too. acupuncture was recommended to me, but ive yet to try it. i know i should, what would it hurt?

on another note, i couldnt stand the plastic AFO's. I did a ton of research and found a silicone device made in europe that has helped me walk better and made my vanity less apparent! i found a podiatrist to make the cast and send it over to europe. we even got my insurance to help pay for it. (approx $1500 i think), but to me, well worth the price.

Billh15,
Sorry about all that misery, Bill. I know what you mean! My footdrop is on the right as well, and I would like to know whatever it is you can tell me about that alternative to the plastic AFO. ASAP!!
Sorry I have no answers, but let's hang in.

It's useful and interesting to read this forum. I too have foot drop after surgery. Six weeks ago I had no feeling in my right foot but now I can move my toes down but not up but cannot move by ankle at all. I have terrible pains at night and feel as if I am walking on broken shells all the time. The orthotic I have is terrible and I am on one crutch. The hips which I had the operation for are great but I can't yet bend very well. The surgeon is confident that I will regain feeling and movement but no-one will say how long it will take. I found acupuncture good for stimulating the nerves but am keen to hear other stories or hints. I'll keep watch here for news and ideas. Thanks. It's awful being dependent on people for transport and help.

Hello everyone,

I had compression damage to my sciatic nerve and now suffer from drop/flail foot. I cannot move or feel anything from the ankle down (total paralysis). I wear an AFO a plastic light weight one that straps around my calf or what's left of it and it fits inside my shoe. I get around well with it and it is important to wear good quality and light weight shoes ( I prefer running shoes). I have terrible nerve pain down my leg and in my foot 24/7. I will be getting a nerve block in March 2008. I am hoping this helps with the pain.

I am considering ankle fusion. I want to get rid of my AFO and walk barefoot again, I am also looking for more stability.

Comments or questions would be appreciated!

Elexure

Hello all,

I had a surgery about a month and a half ago to remove an infection from my right thigh. After the surgery, I could not bring my foot or my toes up. I can still move them down but not up. According to my doctors, this was a result of damage to the superficial peroneal nerve.

Aside from the foot drop itself (for which I have ordered a custom brace), I have nerve pain similiar to what others are discussing on this post. My doctors perscribe Neurotin to help control the pain but it is not helping much.

I am wondering if anyone has tried acupuncture as a method of controlling this type of pain and whether or not it has worked. Also, if others found other solutions to controlling the pain, what were they.

Thanks,

Jim

hello everyone,
ive posted here a few times but havent been back in a while. my foot drop is permanent and so i guess the feeling of my foot being asleep or as someone here said, like walking on eggshells. thats a good way to put it.

ive been on Lyrica for the "pain" for over a year. i feel it has helped more from a discomfort standpoint. i was hoping it would allow me to NOT wear a brace to bed, but i still need to. i use a brace for planters facsia at night in bed.

im interested in the custom brace you talk about. Please let me know more about it if you would.

im also at the point of thinking about accupunture. i would really like to have the tingling/egg shell feeling end, something that i dont think will ever end. has anyone had good success with that?

does anyone else have any solutions/medications for that?

hope the info helps someone!

bill

Hi Bill,

Could you tell me more about your silicone AFO, how is it for stability? My ankle is like a woobly piece of jelly.

Also, I am going to a pain rehabilitation clinic tomorrow, I'm hoping to get a plan in place to control the nerve pain! I'll let you now how it goes.

Looking forward to your reply.

Elex

well,
i wouldnt consider my ankle quite like yours but it definitely has helped with stability. the SAFO goes up the leg about 8-10 inches and has a strap at the top and then one just above the ankle. it is truly a life saver for me. I could not stand using the plastic one for the rest of my life...

hope that helps.

Hi Everyone,

I joined this site because my daughter has drop foot. She was diagnosed 3 years ago when she was 12. I noticed her foot was flopping as she was running during cheerleading practice. I took her to the doctor and found out she had tethered cord at L5. She had spinal cord release two days later. Her foot still curved in and her toes were curled under. She could push down with her foot, but couldn't pull up. A few months later she had a tendon split, which didn't work. Her toes did uncurl. She was supposed to wear the AFO brace, but hated wearing it. Last year she had a posterior tibial tendon tranfer. They transfered the tendon that pushes down and made it a pull up. Her foot is in a neutral position now. She still does cheerleading and is a flyer. I saw on Good Morning America Tuesday a new device that you wear under your knee which sends signals to help your foot lift. We go Wednesday for evaluation. It's website is walkaide.com It was nice finding this forum, JoAnn

I have drop foot resulting from peroneal neuropathy. Recently started using something called a sassi pacer from sassipacer.com
Works good for me. Not cheap, but does work. I am distressed that my condition may be permanent also. No pins and needles, just toes contracting at night. Now using a night splint also.

Hi

I have not been in for a while and am happy to report that the pain is diminished greatly and I only take pain killers at night, I have been going to the gym which has helped my stability (my personal trainer is great) and I am walking better with the AFO and a little better without it. I go to the physio and the gym twice a week and the gym also again in the weekend. Both definitely help and the physio also does acupuncture and massage. I think if I got more massages I'd be even better. I also take omega 3 tabs, vit B6 and vit B complex as well as arnica. I find amytriptilene and tramadol at night help.

I too am interested in the silicon support thank you. My frustration now is that I cannot drive and am dependent on friends for help with shopping (ie clothes shopping) and to take me out for meals etc. It's really annoying. I have been told to ask for nerve stimulation (from a machine) so am about to try and start that process. My toes still curl down and inwards easily and ever so slightly outward but not up.

It's great to read your stories. Thanks for sharing and being there.

I'm so glad I found this site. My 2 1/2 year old was born with a positional club foot. After the club foot healed they discovered the had some nerve damage in the foot. She had a NCT and I think it's called an EEG to confirm the nerve damage. Just for additional background. They wanted to rule out a brain bleed or stroke from birth so she also had an MRI of the brain, and also an MRI of entire spine because she also has a sacral dimple and they wanted to check for a tethered cord as well. All these tests came back negative. That's a good thing, however, it doesn't tell us why she has this nerve damage or what has caused it. This is on her right side of the body. Incidentally, I thought I might also mention that on her left side she has a leg length discrepency on her femur (1.7 cm) and also had a mild form of PFFD in her left hip. The hip is pretty much OK now and seated in the socket at her last checkup. We go for xrays every 6 months to check on the leg length and that's all good for now. She wears a shoe lift on the bottom of her shoe which helps greatly. And she also has an AFO on her right foot for the foot drop. My main concern is the foot drop because we don't know why the nerve damage and because she is only 2 I really don't know if the foot bothers her. My guess that it doesn't at this time. I hope some day it can be repaired. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc.. would be greatly appreciated. We're currently trying E-Stim at home with a PT's guidance and we are seeing toe wiggling now.

Hi All,
I have only just got foot drop and not quite sure what has caused it...
I am going to see a neurologist at the end of may...
I am a 23 year old girl and I love to wear my skirts and heels when I go out so I am gutted....
Does anyone know of a splint that is good but is less noticable?
I have a splint on now which is a velcro thing... one around my foot and one around my ankle and then the clip onto each other to hold my foot up...
It is so noticable... I want something that you can't see as much under tights...
Can anyone help?? I am in england so some stuff is unavailable here, unlike America that seems to have everything...