Foot Drop Treatment

The following article will take you through the techniques of foot drop treatment and will tell you how to deal with it. Continue reading for more information.

Foot drop is a condition that is characterized by the inability of a person to flex or move their ankle and toe muscles effectively, which results in a person dragging their toes over the ground and walking with an added effort in their gait. This is usually brought on by the paralysis of the muscles in that section of the foot. There are several reasons that bring on this foot problem. These could be due to certain disorders of the mind (cerebral palsy), heart disease or stroke or certain others that have to do with motor neuron functions (polio, spinal stenosis).

Since a person has lost the ability to lift the foot in an easy movement as is usually done, they need to put in more effort at the hip level and bend the knees in an unnatural way to walk to prevent the pain that emanates. Their basic movement of walking is thwarted and therefore a person finds it difficult to walk and takes to dragging their toes which further causes them to trip and fall. Or they might swing their legs out to prevent the dragging. This condition can affect one or both feet and can be a temporary or permanent condition. Since neither the dragging nor the swinging actions are natural, there is a need to correct this condition. This can be achieved by adopting foot drop treatment forms. In the article that follows we shall look at some of these forms of treatment for foot drop and try and understand how it works.

Treating Foot Drop

Other than administering pain killers for the pain that ensues, there are several forms of foot drop treatment that are adopted in correcting this condition and the ensuing toe pain that follows. Given below are some of the treatment forms.

Braces

Foot drop braces are one of the widely used foot drop treatment forms. These concentrate on providing support to the patient's foot such that he is able to lift his foot better and higher and does not have to scuffle his toes along the ground, and neither does he have to swing his legs out. It allows him additional support so that he does not stumble and fall while walking. It also lessens the leg pain and discomfort by acting as a shock absorber mechanism. There are several forms of braces that are used and these range from soft foot drop brace, posterior leaf brace, solid ankle brace, energy return brace and several others, a closer inspection of the foot and the severity of the condition will determine the kind of brace that an orthopedic doctor will prescribe.

Nerve Stimulation

The peroneal nerve is responsible for the 'lifting' motion of the foot, therefore a stimulation of this nerve can lead to an effective foot drop treatment. This is either achieved by manual stimulation or by fitting a battery operated stimulator. This stimulator is strapped below the knee or is implanted in the leg(s).

Physical Therapy

There are several foot drop exercises that can be administered as well. These range from simple leg exercises to other, more complex forms. These exercises concentrate on restoring the dexterity, strength and flexibility of the foot and toes and help in restoring the health of the toes. These then allow the toes to gather more power and make it possible to work.

Surgery

When all options are exhausted and nothing seems to help, then surgery is looked upon as the final option. This cure for foot drop is usually used in cases when the foot drop condition is permanent. Depending on the severity of the condition the kind of surgery is determined. It could either involve fusing the foot and ankle bones together or the transferring of tendons for correcting walking difficulties.

Now that you know what are the different foot drop treatment forms and the kind of options that one can look into, if you ever face a condition such as this, you will be better informed and will be able to ask your doctor for all the possible options to follow. All the best and take care of your health.