The definition of foot drop is the inability to lift the foot above the ankle. When this condition develops, the person walks with dragging feet. It negatively affects daily life by causing complaints such as not being able to drive a vehicle, not being able to use slippers, walking disorders, and being away from sports activities. The most common cause is a herniated disc and peroneal nerve compression in the knee.
It is examined in two groups: painful foot drop and painless foot drop. Causes of painless foot drop include some brain tumors, spinal cord tumors, diabetes, vascular diseases, and nerve compression due to surgery. In foot drop accompanied by pain, we usually encounter a herniated disc, fractures in the lumbar spine, sciatic nerve injuries, peroneal nerve injuries, and peroneal nerve compression. Sometimes, both painful and painless foot drop can occur without any reason.
Your doctor will examine you in detail and request some tests. In addition to imaging studies such as x-rays of the waist area, lumbar MRI, and lumbar tomography, Doppler vascular ultrasounds, nerve conduction tests such as EMG, and blood tests should be performed. If no results are obtained, areas of the brain and spine other than the waist should also be examined.
In the light of the results, foot drop will be treated by choosing one or more of the treatment options such as herniated disc surgery, cervical disc herniation surgery, brain surgery, brain tumor surgery, peroneal nerve compression surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation, vascular treatment, diabetes treatment. . In rare cases, foot drop may be followed by multiple sclerosis, Guillain Barre syndrome or tumors that spread widely throughout the body. In such cases, treatments that may require an intensive care bed and require the collaboration of many departments are applied.
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