FOOT DROP

 🔴__________FOOT DROP__________🔴

✅Foot drop, sometimes called drop foot, is a general term for difficulty lifting the front part of the foot.

                               🔶Causes

1️⃣ Nerve injury. The most common cause of foot drop is compression of a nerve in your leg that controls the muscles involved in lifting the foot (peroneal nerve). This nerve can also be injured during hip or knee replacement surgery, which may cause foot drop.

A nerve root injury — "pinched nerve" — in the spine can also cause foot drop. People who have diabetes are more susceptible to nerve disorders, which are associated with foot drop.

2️⃣ Muscle or nerve disorders.

Various forms of muscular dystrophy, an inherited disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, can contribute to foot drop. So can other disorders, such as polio or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

3️⃣ Brain and spinal cord disorders.

 Disorders that affect the spinal cord or brain — such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis or stroke — may cause foot drop. 

✅Patient with this condition often walk dragging their forefoot on the ground and exhibit high stepping gait. 

✅This is due to the inability to lift the front part of their foot during walking. 

                             🔶 Management

🔴 With electrical stimulation and use of orthotic devices, coupled with therapeutic exercises, the foot drop can well be managed by therapists.

🔴 Rehabilitation Exercises for Foot Drop

1️⃣ Towel Stretch 

▪️Sit on the floor with both legs straight out in front of you.

▪️ Loop a towel or exercise band around the affected foot and hold onto the ends with your hands.

▪️ Pull the towel or band towards your body.

▪️ Hold for 30 seconds. Then relax for 30 seconds. ▪️Repeat 3 times.

2️⃣ Toe to Heel Rocks

▪️Stand in front of a table, chair, wall, or another sturdy object you can hold onto for support.

▪️ Rock your weight forward and rise up onto your toes.

▪️ Hold this position for 5 seconds.

▪️ Next, rock your weight backwards onto your heels and lift your toes off the ground.

▪️ Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat the sequence 6 times.

3️⃣ Marble Pickup

▪️ Sit in a chair with both feet flat on the floor.

▪️ Place 20 marbles and a bowl on the floor in front of you.

▪️ Using the toes of your affected foot, pick up each marble and place it in the bowl.

▪️ Repeat until you have picked up all the marbles.

4️⃣ Ankle Dorsiflexion with resistance

5️⃣ Ankle Plantar Flexion with resistance

6️⃣ Ball Lift

▪️Sit in a chair with both feet flat on the floor.

▪️ Place a small round object on the floor in front of you (about the size of a tennis ball).

▪️ Hold the object between your feet and slowly lift it by extending your legs.

▪️ Hold for 5 seconds then slowly lower.

▪️ Repeat 10 times.

7️⃣ Ankle Eversion and Inversion with resistance

8️⃣ Single Leg Stands

9️⃣ Hip Adduction and Abduction with resistance 

🔟 Hip Rotation with resistance