foot drop :(

[natnatjn]

Hi all i am new here, i had a nasty car accident back in febuary in which i broke my hip and pelvis and suffered a large nasty open wound to my knee,since leaving hospital and bein able to know weight bear its come to light i am suffering with footdrop :(  i am on many pills and painkillers although i can walk i have a very bad limp due to the droop :( can anybody help withways of relief? has anyone done anything similar? will it ever get better?

[FMDAdvocate]

Two AFO's! One is such a struggle for me. How do you manage? Are you able to drive?
I had so much trouble finding socks that would stay up since my leg has atrophy. I initially found a knee sock at Target so bought a dozen. Then the atrophy got worse so I moved on to a baseball sock. My PT suggested using a man's garter. I was mortified at this thought. Now I have discovered Nike soccer socks which are working out great. I live in FL so between a sock and the AFO my outdoor activity is limited. I was an active tennis player prior to the foot drop.

Thanks for sharing.

[FMDAdvocate]

Hi, sorry I am so slow to respond. Somehow I missed your message. Have you seen any improvement in your foot drop these past few weeks? My foot drop was caused by a disc bone fragment which broke and struck my L5 nerve root. Its been 18 months for me and I do wear an AFO, ankle-foot orthosis aka brace. It's hot and I can barely tolerate. The good news is I am able to walk so much easier with it on. I don't roll over my toes and I have better control so don't lift my leg (step gait) so much now. My team of drs tell me it can take as much as three years for nerves to recover if they are going to.. I also use an electrical stimulator on my leg below the knee at home. You might want to ask your dr about e-stim.
It is also to help reduce muscle atrophy while the nerve heals. I take several meds to help with the nerve pain too. Thanks for chatting with me. Unless you've had foot drop it's hard for other's to truely appreciate. I'm a nurse and certainly had no idea how hard coping this can be.

[lizajane47]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Do you wear any kind of an afo which is a plastic leg brace. It goes into your shoe and picks your foot up when you step. Do you have a physical therapist.Sometimes they will give you home excersizes that can help strengthen some.It wont hurt to ask your orthopedic dr about getting you one if you dont have one now.I wear 2 i was in an accident 18 years ago and if i dont wear them i cant walk without falling. Hope this helps goodluck.