Is anyone familiar with Foot Drop?

I woke up this morning and my left leg (below the knee) felt weak. I went about my day, not really acknowledging it, but now it's got me a little freaked out.

Basically, I have the exact symptoms outlined in the link above. I can't left my left foot up towards my body when sitting with my legs out in front of me. Also, with my feet flat on the floor, I can barely move my left foot off the ground. And lastly, if I walk around on my heels, it's impossible to do with my left foot (right foot on heel is no problem).

Should I see a doctor about this or ride it out for a couple days (24 hours?).

I feel no other symptoms otherwise. It's just my left leg, from the knee down that is affected / has lack of feeling.

quote:

Should I see a doctor about this

Yes.

Are you diabetic? My wife has drop foot and she is. It is probably worth a call to the doctor.

You can ride it out for 24 hrs. When I injured my back, my busted disc was putting pressure on my nerve and if not corrected soon, it can do perm. dmg.
In my case, I showed improvement over the next week so they did not operate, opting for PT instead.
My experience, I'm not a doctor.
ETA: The lack of feeling is a concern. I'd go tomorrow at the latest.

I am not diabetic, on zero medications, and am generally healthy (6' 2" / 175lbs). 34 years old.

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

ETA: The lack of feeling is a concern. I'd go tomorrow at the latest.

I guess lack of feeling isn't the right term. I mean, it feels the same when I pinch it and stuff - I can feel pain. It just feels kind of 'asleep'. I cross my left leg over my right, which would make sense why the left one is affected, and not the right.

One thing, I cross my legs A LOT. I sit at my desk all day with them crossed underneath the desk for the most part. I just read that crossed legs can pinch a nerve and cause this. If a nerve was pinched, is there any pain involved in that happening? Or can a pinched nerve just silently do its thing?

I always cross my left leg over my right leg, which would make sense why the left leg would be affected, and not the right.

quote:

I guess lack of feeling isn't the right term. I mean, it feels the same when I pinch it and stuff - I can feel pain. It just feels kind of 'asleep'. I cross my left leg over my right, which would make sense why the left one is affected, and not the right.

One thing, I cross my legs A LOT. I sit at my desk all day with them crossed underneath the desk for the most part. I just read that crossed legs can pinch a nerve and cause this. If a nerve was pinched, is there any pain involved in that happening? Or can a pinched nerve just silently do its thing?

I always cross my left leg over my right leg, which would make sense why the left leg would be affected, and not the right.

Quit asking DR. Google and get an appointment with your physician soon. He can do some very simple tests and get you in to see a neurologist if indicated. Could be lots of things, but not something to be ignored.

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:
I just read that crossed legs can pinch a nerve and cause this. If a nerve was pinched, is there any pain involved in that happening? Or can a pinched nerve just silently do its thing?

Don't know. I didn't have a "pinched" nerve. I had busted disc putting pressure on the nerve. The busted disc was a twisting knife in the back pain each night as the disc swelled up.

As I walked around during the day it would compress and the pain would go away but I had the floppy foot.
So, NOT A DR., but the first thing you need to do is stop crossing your legs. If you have a Chiropractor/medicine man, you might consult them, unless it is work related, in which case you need the DRs opinion only.

I got Drop Foot after back surgery. It sucks.. Mine happened 6 yrs ago and it is a little better with hours of rehab.. But I still trip.. My right calf is two inches smaller than the left. I do exercise every day and it is still weak

I began to develop this when I had back problems at L4&5. I was in severe pain from the back and the left foot problem developed. Back surgery fixed it. According to the literature, it could be a leg nerve problem. see a doc asap.

If you want to keep walking, walk to a neurologist, pronto.

See the doctor. Drop foot is usually caused by some obstruction to the nerve and you really need to get it checked out. Steroids and a lot of exercise helped me when I had it after from a sever sciatica issue.

could be a wide variety of things, including:
"Central Causes of Foot Drop: Rare and Underappreciated Differential ...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2031999/

by FD Westhout - ‎2007 - ‎Cited by 46 - ‎Related articles
Central causes, although rare, need to be considered in the differential diagnosis of foot drop. Central causative lesions usually occur at locations where pyramidal tract connections are condensed and specific and the function is somatotopically organized. These cases confirm that good results can be achieved when ..."

could be a sudden bleeding event as well;

do a favor for yourself & go see your provider for suitable exam workup in the morning, eh?

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:

ETA: The lack of feeling is a concern. I'd go tomorrow at the latest.

One thing, I cross my legs A LOT. I sit at my desk all day with them crossed underneath the desk for the most part. I just read that crossed legs can pinch a nerve and cause this. If a nerve was pinched, is there any pain involved in that happening? Or can a pinched nerve just silently do its thing?

I always cross my left leg over my right leg, which would make sense why the left leg would be affected, and not the right.

First off get into a Dr's office ASAP. I work with a guy who had your symptoms and ended up stopping by an ER on the way home. He had back pain as well and it turned out to be so serious a 24 hour delay would have resulted in perminant paralysis.

That being said I had what I think is the same problem you are having. It was caused by a pinched nerve behind my knee that was agrivated by sitting with my legs crossed. Good luck.

Get to the Doc ASAP. I had the same issue from Stenosis of the Spine. After 3 spine surgeries I am good!! (I've also broken my back twice) Nerve shit you don't want to play with.......
I REALLY hope it is something minor...

Doctor. Now.

I can give you a huge list of people I know who avoided the doctor for various issues who are dead or severely impaired because of lack of treatment.

I vote "Doctor Now".

If you smell smoke, you don't wait for the fire department to show you where it was coming from.

Unless you've had an accident dr it's gonna call it a pinched nerve and give steroids. Don't let dr push this out past a week ... Demand to see neurologist once you see there is no improvement. The nerve splits at the knee, one goes down front, the other back of leg. Could be danged at several different points... Back, hip, knee ankle.
Happened to me once. It came back.

Due to an accident I have lost the use of my foot. Life changing to say the least.

 
With the sudden onset, I vote for seeing a Dr. now. I also have foot drop, but mine has been a gradual onset (over 4-5 years), due to deteriorating sciatica. What has been a big help for me is an AFO (ankle and foot orthotic). It is a brace-like device that forces the front of the foot up while walking. Not intended to cure the problem nor relieve any pain, but mainly to help prevent falls due to tripping, which I had begun to experience. Wearing it feels natural and does not cause any pain itself.
 

Witnessed foot drop myself. MRI showed L4/L5 herniated disk and spinal stenosis. Had the ill-feeling in my right shin and some unwarranted foot pain. Came out of nowhere.

Orthopedic surgeon wanted to operate right away to fuse L4/L5, went to neurosurgeon for 2nd opinion - this guy is the last to operate by reputation. Stated that I could be Ok with time or the problem could hit me like a ton of bricks - it was a toss-up.

Doing Pilates and core workouts now to stave-off surgery. It's a gamble. Neuro guy said surgery is inevitable knowing what my MRI looks like.

In the meantime, it's a quality of life issue.

I would definitely get to a Neurosurgeon, MRI and a 2nd opinion ASAP.

While waiting in the Orthopedic doc's office, saw a guy with severe footdrop - very difficult to watch him walk. Felt genuinely bad for him..

Once it gets advanced, chances of it healing are unlikely I was told.

Best to you in this, been there...

JoeSig