Foot Drop Question

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

After a back fusion surgery in November 2019 my husband woke up with foot drop. In the last few months he has gotten "a little" movement in his big toe. He can move it towards the ceiling a little bit when his foot is flat on the floor or when he has his legs supported in the recliner. The weird new thing is that when his legs are up on the recliner he has some movement with his ankle bringing it up. When he has his foot flat on the ground he cannot lift at the ankle. Anyone have any experience with foot drop? I'd love to hear stories, thoughts, ideas.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My dad has terrible foot drop. His was caused by a pinched nerve in his back that he let go too long. He wears a brace on that foot anytime we wears shoes. When he is around the house he just kind of shuffles that foot.

 

[can'tgetenufofwdw]

My dad has terrible foot drop. His was caused by a pinched nerve in his back that he let go too long. He wears a brace on that foot anytime we wears shoes. When he is around the house he just kind of shuffles that foot.

I'm so sorry to hear that. Before it became a reality in our life I had never really heard of it. Initially they provided my husband with one of those large plastic uncomfortable braces to wear. He hated it. I did some searching around and found the Aider 3 brace on Amazon. It looks like an ankle wrap and it's made of neoprene. It has a very thin stiff piece that you put your foot on and then you criss cross 2 pieces of the brace over the top of your foot and it works fantastic with regard to supporting the foot so it doesn't flop or drag. When worn with shorts it just looks like you have and ankle support ace wrap on. My husband really likes these. I bought 2 more to have when the original one wears out at the velcro. He's been using it for 10 months and it's still going strong. I recently also discovered the Turbo Med brace. It's quite expensive ($1200) but I filled out a very quick and painless questionnaire on their website about insurance covering it. Three days later they called and said that as soon as the doctor faxed them a script stating that he had foot drop and would benefit from the device they would build his brace and ship it. We had it 8 days later. He loves this brace too. It's a little more "obvious" but it actually allows him to "run". He says it feels great and if he doesn't look at his shoe he feels normal again.

 

[cvjw]

My husband has had 2 back surgeries for herniated discs - each with foot drop. The foot drop went away both times after healing from the surgeries. He still will have episodes with his back - the most recent with foot drop and numbness in his calf muscles. After seeing a new doctor, he was advised to exercise and not be too stationary in his daily routine - he figured he was in for surgery #3. He took the advice and everything healed up on its own. The dr said swelling and inflammation in the back can cause foot drop.

 

[momz]

I assume he has discussed this with his surgeon? What treatments has he done so far? Is he having difficulty walking?

 

[Praying Colonel]

I have foot drop in my left foot after surgery to reconstruct my pelvis after an auto accident in 2018. Over time I've regained the ability to lift 4 of my 5 toes and I can bend my ankle some. But my big toe still just sits there like a Vienna Sausage.

My physical therapist said nerves regenerate very slowly and I may eventually regain some or all of my function. She also said there's not much you can do to help the nerves along beyond staying active and patient. She said there were some studies on electric stimulation but it wasn't especially conclusive or promising. (We tried that a couple of times and nothing really happened.)

When I think about it, it's very frustrating. I used to play a lot of sports (baseball, softball, tennis, volleyball, etc.) and I can't do most of that now because of the nerve issue. But I also could've died that day, or I could've suffered a brain injury or a spinal cord injury like people I saw when I was in rehab. I have back about 90-95% of what I could do before the accident, and if my toe just continues to do the Vienna Sausage thing and this is all I ever get back, I'm still incredibly blessed and grateful. I just have to remind myself occasionally.

 

[Jennasis]

I have foot drop. It started a few days before my discectomy, when I foolishly went to a chiropractor for my debillitating back pain. He did an adjustment and 30 min later I loss the use of my foot. I called his office immediately and his receptionist tried to tell me it was normal for that to happen. Two days later I was in the surgeons office and in need of emergency surgery because the "adjustment" had caused my herniated disc to smoosh out and into my spinal column.

Anyhoo...I regained full use of my foot after about 6 months.

4 years later I reherniated the same disc and underwent surgery again. I woke up from surgery with numbness in my foot that extended up my ankle and calf along with foot drop. That was 6 years ago and I still have all that numbness and loss of use.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm so sorry to hear that. Before it became a reality in our life I had never really heard of it. Initially they provided my husband with one of those large plastic uncomfortable braces to wear. He hated it. I did some searching around and found the Aider 3 brace on Amazon. It looks like an ankle wrap and it's made of neoprene. It has a very thin stiff piece that you put your foot on and then you criss cross 2 pieces of the brace over the top of your foot and it works fantastic with regard to supporting the foot so it doesn't flop or drag. When worn with shorts it just looks like you have and ankle support ace wrap on. My husband really likes these. I bought 2 more to have when the original one wears out at the velcro. He's been using it for 10 months and it's still going strong. I recently also discovered the Turbo Med brace. It's quite expensive ($1200) but I filled out a very quick and painless questionnaire on their website about insurance covering it. Three days later they called and said that as soon as the doctor faxed them a script stating that he had foot drop and would benefit from the device they would build his brace and ship it. We had it 8 days later. He loves this brace too. It's a little more "obvious" but it actually allows him to "run". He says it feels great and if he doesn't look at his shoe he feels normal again.

My dad's brace is built into his shoe. He buys a pair of tennis shoes (he likes New Balance) and the podiatrists office sends off the shoe where they take the sole off and attach the brace to it. He has tennis shoes and work boots with these braces. Insurance pays for a new one each year.

 

[AgentMama]

I have foot drop. It started a few days before my discectomy, when I foolishly went to a chiropractor for my debillitating back pain. He did an adjustment and 30 min later I loss the use of my foot. I called his office immediately and his receptionist tried to tell me it was normal for that to happen. Two days later I was in the surgeons office and in need of emergency surgery because the "adjustment" had caused my herniated disc to smoosh out and into my spinal column.

Anyhoo...I regained full use of my foot after about 6 months.

4 years later I reherniated the same disc and underwent surgery again. I woke up from surgery with numbness in my foot that extended up my ankle and calf along with foot drop. That was 6 years ago and I still have all that numbness and loss of use.

Did your chiro take xrays before your adjustment? I've always had great luck with chiropractic, but then stories like yours are not unusual.

My grandfather had foot drop after a back surgery that resolved after the swelling was gone.

 

[Jennasis]

Did your chiro take xrays before your adjustment? I've always had great luck with chiropractic, but them stories like yours are not unusual.

My grandfather had foot drop after a back surgery that resolved after the swelling was gone.

He did...and proclaimed "Your spine looks GREAT!". Well we all know that xrays do not show soft tissue so he couldn't see the severely herniated disc I had. I should have demanded an MRI first. When I was sent for an MRI (the next day, by my friend's husband who was a doctor and ordered me an emergency MRI), I got a phone call an hour after the MRI (from my friend's husband) begging me to lay flat immediately while he called in for an emergency ortho-surgical consult because my disc was so mangled now that he was worried I would become paralyzed if the disc moved any more.

 

[AgentMama]

He did...and proclaimed "Your spine looks GREAT!". Well we all know that xrays do not show soft tissue so he couldn't see the severely herniated disc I had. I should have demanded an MRI first. When I was sent for an MRI (the next day, by my friend's husband who was a doctor and ordered me an emergency MRI), I got a phone call an hour after the MRI (from my friend's husband) begging me to lay flat immediately while he called in for an emergency ortho-surgical consult because my disc was so mangled now that he was worried I would become paralyzed if the disc moved any more.

So scary!

 

[low-key]

I thought this said froot loop question, I am prety much an expert on the subject of froot loops

 

[lisaviolet]

Foot drop can be a symptom of b12 deficiency. B12 deficiency can be due to diet (vegetarians, vegans).

But most of the time it is from pernicious anemia and other conditions causing a gut absorption issue.

The entire body can literally fall apart due to this deficiency.