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FOOT DROP
Foot drop is a deficit in
turning the ankle and toes upward, known
as dorsiflexion. Therefore, the foot
will hang down. The deep fibular/peroneal
nerve innervates the anterior
compartment of the leg. Damage to this
nerve will lead to the inability for the
leg to dorsiflex the foot, therefore
causing foot drop.
Conditions leading to foot drop
may be neurologic, muscular or
anatomic in origin, often with
significant overlap. The result
is an abnormal gait/ walking
pattern. Foot drop is
characterized by steppage gait.
When the person with foot drop
walks, the foot slaps down onto
the floor. To accommodate the
toe drop, the patient may use a
characteristic tiptoe walk on
the opposite leg, raising the
thigh excessively, as if walking
upstairs, while letting the toe
drop. This serves to raise the
foot high enough to prevent the
toe from dragging and prevents
the slapping. |
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Other gaits such as a wide
outward leg swing (to avoid lifting the
thigh excessively or to turn corners in
the opposite direction of the affected
limb) may also indicate foot drop.
Patients with painful disorders of
sensation (dysesthesia) of the soles of
the feet may have a similar gait but do
not have foot drop.
If the L5
nerve root is involved, the most common
cause is a herniated disc. Other causes
of foot drop are diabetes, trauma, motor
neuron disease (MND), adverse reaction
to a drug or alcohol, and multiple
sclerosis.
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