Foot Drop - interested in following others progress
 

Hi , I recently developed foot drop as a result from a complication ofvaricose vein surgery. Unfortunately the surgeon sutured around the the common peroneal nerve when she was stitching up. This was not discovered for a week (initially thought to be a mild neuropraxia). The second surgeon was able to remove the suture and said he was able to see the blood vessels and axon going through the nerve and said I should make a full recovery. I understand there is about 1-5mm nerve repair per day & I need to get from my knee to my big toe!! I am a very positive and determined 42 year old female PE teacher and triathlete!! I am very interested in hearing from others with foot drop originating from CPN damage.

Hi Vanessa,
Welcome to NeuroTalk.

That's a really terrible thing to happen to you. The good thing is that you're obviously fit to begin with and as you say, you have the determination to get better as fast as possible.

I had a quick look using the search feature for any older posts. I didn't find anything relating to food drop and surgery specifically although there could be some that I missed. There are some posts I noticed on the Peripheral Neuropathy forum... obviously neuropathy related. You could also try asking there.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html

You can use the forum search feature below to check yourself if you wish.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

Nice to meet you!!
 

Welcome VanessaGray. :Wave-Hello:

Current Regime for rehab
 

At the moment this is my current rehab regime:

1. 1-2 x 30min on bike wind trainer
2. Toe curls
3. Heel toe rocking
4. Neural 'flossing' at least 3x per day
5. Calf raises
6. accupuncture 1x 45 min session per week including cold laser & needles
7. 1 x chiropractic session per week
8 Nutrition - fish oils, B12, coQ10, intestine 'stuff', progesterone,Vit D

Any other suggestions?

I don't know IF my issue is foot drop BUT I had a anterior hip replacement in 2010 and ended up with femoral nerve damage on front of thigh, incision is in front of thigh. Femoral nerve is right there. That's where they did all this HORRIFIC work as I see it now after all said and done. My right leg is shorter and didn't know that for a couple yrs, so damage was done...this leg issue made my OA knee worse and made my foot and ankle worse...I don't know whether all my foot stuff is from OA only or a combination from dead nerves....my ankle is very weak and again all my issues could be from the nerve damage from hip job. Ankle is very stiff and kinda numb too...so for me it seems to be all related to the surgery.

Oh, IT Band damage too. I really got the shaft with what I hoped would be relief.

I've done a lot of acupuncture, take a lot of supps, stretches and keep ankle moving with exercises. I often fear that one day it will go under. Hate to say that.

Hello and Welcome Vanessa,

I am sorry for what you are going through. Nerve injuries are not for woosies! I am glad that someone figured out what happened and rectified the issue so quickly. That bodes very well for your recovery! Yeah for surgeon two! Unless your nerve was transected it very well may recover faster than 1-5mm per day.

I had a nerve injury in my ankle during an ortho procedure and later required a repair. You WILL make progress. It does take time. It sounds like you are already doing many positive things towards your recovery. One thing I found helpful in the area of the injury was using different textures and temperatures for input for the nerve to recognize. One area felt just weird for a long, long time when I would use a soft nylon brush on it, but eventually it tickled! If you have loss of sensation, recognizing sensory input appropriately is part of reorganization and healing and a very good sign.

Washington University's Peripheral Nerve Program is a great resource. They have info on different grades of nerve injury and expected recovery. They also have specific info for foot drop and info on procedures for those cases when nerves don't heal on their own.

You will find them here http://nerve.wustl.edu

Keep up the good work and never give up on the potential for healing. :hug:

Vanessa, I realize you've had the vein surgery but thought I'd post this FYI on venous insufficiency. I've been taking OPC's for 20 yrs soon and knew it addressed this issue long ago:


umm.edu/health/.../grape-seed
University of Maryland Medical Center
However, there is good evidence that grape seed extract can help treat chronic venous insufficiency and edema. A study of healthy volunteers found that taking ...

Thank you
 

Thank you everyone for such immediate responses. It is just nice to hear that there are others out there with their own suggestions. I will certainly follow some of those links. Kind regards

Hyperextension as the cause
 

Hi Vanessa, a slippery marble floor made me put all my weight(signifigant) on my left knee. Somewhere in the recovery process, days later, I realized I could not lift my foot. I was given an appliance that is L-shaped and scoops the toes up as you lift the leg. I recovered fully but remember it as being too slow by my estimation. Good Luck, Ken in Texas.