Drop Foot

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JediKnight

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Hello, For the last 18 years I have suffered with back problems. Originally, playing squash, I hurt my back and was told it was sciatica. Since then, I do something daft each year and my back goes. I dont get sciatica, just a really painful back. A week off work cures me and its back to normal life. However, 8 weeks ago my back went, I had a week off work, then it went again, but this time I had pins and needles down my left leg. I have not had this for 18 years. I called the doctor and he told me to keep walking as much as possible. Two weeks later my back felt better but I still had pins and needles in my left leg but now I couldn't lift my foot upwarRAB. I could lift it to a horizontal position but no further. Again the doctor told me to keep moving. Then, my back pain came again only worse. I was bed ridden and could not possibly get up, even for the toilet. It was terrible. I called an emergency doctor and he lifted my leg upwarRAB and said "sciatica". Here are some pain killers. I pointed out that my foot was not working and he replied "interesting". Get plenty of rest. The next day my whole body went into cramp and would not un-cramp. I got my wife to get an arabulance and 45 mins later they arrived, pumped me full of morphine (which was fab) and took me to hospital. They MRI scanned me and operated the next day, removing part of L4 and L5 disks. My pain has totally gone. Great. I have no pins and needles. Great. Alas, my left toes is still nurab and I still can't lift my foot past horizontal which is annoying. Is it likely to get bettter ? How long will it take ? what can I do as excercise ? If it never comes back, what options are available ?

Sorry about the long post as an active, fit 38 year old, this drop foot is worrying and depressing.
 
Are you seeing a doctor about your drop foot? It is probably due to sciatic nerve damage, from the herniated disk in your back. Did they remove a disc fragment from the nerve? Did they mention nerve damage? As long as nothing is impinging on that nerve now, it's an exercise and wait and see game.

I have the same thing. I am just over one year post op and my foot and leg are still weak but are slowly getting stronger and less nurab. I was told to exercise; walk and do water aerobics to get the blood flowing to that nerve to get it to heal. i use a deep water water aerobics belt. Great way to exercise with a weak foot.

The doctor explained it like this: the nerve was compressed, like catching a finger in a door. As soon as you free the finger, it's free but it still throbs for awhile. With nerves, the nerve is freed but still throbbing, only nerves can take months or years to heal. And only with exercise.

I recently sprained my ankle on that bad foot because of poor balance and nurabness/weakness to that foot. some people use a foot brace. Sprains and breaks are common with drop foot. for me, as soon as i had surgery i could lift my toes again, and I was no longer dragging it behind me, but the foot is still weak and nurab. Doctor said 3-5 years to recover the use of it. Said I'd see slow gains each month, which I have.

you really need to talk to the doctor about your foot and see a physical therapist too, as there are things you need to be aware of. I can't believe that you have not been told a thing about your drop foot, what caused it, and what you need to do now, and what your prognosis for recovery is. That's just crazy.
 
I am seeing the physio today and they are putting me in the 'pool'. After the OP i never saw a doctor before discharge and so they didnt mention foot drop recovery. I am a meraber of a very good gym, so perhaps I should be 'working out' as much as possible rather than being frightened that my back will go again. PS: did you get any muscle spasms in your leg after the OP ?
 
Hi Jedi and ladybird it was a comfort to find your storys re foot drop i have not had a back dis operation to date but that may change after i have my mri whitch will take a few months I had a ct scan was not enough for the nuro doc.quick hstory 5 years ago my story just like yours Jedi. but after 3 months every thing ok after physo and no heavy bending ect. My back was better than ever running hikig all ok.no more ten day bouts with the back zap untill 3 months ago i got the major zap ever L45 this was after
getting rear ended in my van six weeks prior with upper back first and this was a first for me and then over a week strarted to go down to lower back mussels and spasims started then things got better and then after hicking about two hours one weekend things felt a bit stiff and then next day i just bent over ad zap just about fell to my knees major lower back spasims. I could not sit up for longer than 5 min and my left leg began to go and over a couple of weeks the foot drop and leg pain and weekness The doctor kept saying rest this has gone on for ten weeks two weeks ago the pain started to back off after pain management diet.I am able to sit now and drive as of a week ago.Today i saw the sergon for the first time and told him about the foot drop. he was verry vage ordered a MRI. lots of questions un ansered but very nice to hear about the both of you. i will share any info i can with you if you know were to look on foot drop and nerve damage please let me know. thanks for the swimming tip i did it tonight thanks laqedybird. walking ok just on flat about 2 miles left leg does not track and major limp and left leg weekness.Swimming feels much better i will do both keep mw posyed thanks again first time on this site tday.keep trucking TJ.
 
Any answer to this ? I developed terrible foot drop this morning ( I do have MS, but I think this is due to my bad back, L5S1 bulge)

I was stripping furniture yesterday, bent over of course for hours, and when I returned to normal position, I felt very bad electric shocks down my legs, and my back was killing me last night. This morning, low and behold, very bad foot drop in my left leg. Coincidentally, I have an appt with my neuro today for MS (follow-up), and lets see what he says. The same exact thing happened to my twin bro, and he had surgery to clear it up, I hope I do not need surgery.
 
Hello, My surgeon at the time told me that as soon as I had any kind of paralysis I should have gone straight to the hospital because if the nerve is compressed for more than a few days the chances of it ever coming back is almost nil. The Doctor never told me this fact and I could throttle him.

Interesting coming back to this thread now as its 10 years ago and I have had a second discectomy in the time frame as my disc herniated a second time. I'm in no pain now (touch wood), no medicine needed although it still aches sometimes. I'm back at the gym, walking , cycling over mountains, all sorts of stuff that doesn't invovle running because the foot has never got any better. I still can't move it above the horizontal and probably never will now.
 
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