What nerve damage causes foot drop?

If you have ever noticed someone dragging their feet while walking, then they were most likely suffering from foot drop. This condition is caused by a disruption of the nerves that control the muscles in our legs and feet – which to be honest, can suck. The nerves involved in causing this nasty-sounding condition fall under the category of peroneal nerves (be careful with your pronunciation there). Injuries or damages near these nerves can cause different types of foot drop based on their location.

Let’s dig deeper into knowing more about what exactly are Peroneal Nerves? And why exactly do they matter when we’re talking Foot Drop!

Understanding Peroneal Nerves

Peroneal refers to the fibula bone found below your kneecap. Commonly known as ‘fibular’ nerve it is made up of two separate branches namely Deep peroneal nerve & Superficial peroneal nerve.

Cutting interchanged jargon out, Deep branch helps movement for toes along with lifting ankle upwards while Superficial section affects little toe besides contributing fairly towards dorsal flexion for ankle.

It may seem simple enough until one morning you wake up and realize that something’s wrong (trust me), and your body starts acting like an unreliable car after an accident/pothole ridden area!

Common Causes Behind Foot Drops

Below mentioned are some key factors that lead to damaged / weakened perineural nodes resulting into subsequent impairment during contraction process:

  • Physical injury
    • Any mechanical incident near knee joint would affect proper functioning since closer end remains exposed at all times.
    • Muscles w/ repeated bending motions [think marathon athletes] also get effected by stress injuries easily due pressure put on them over long hours.
  • Specific medical disorders
  • Backbone e.g Herniated Discs, Spinal Cord Tumor etc so it refers till affected part which controls movement.
  • Specific medical conditions such as Diabetes (causes neuropathy), Lupus Erythematous, Multiple Sclerosis or any Polyneuropathy that damages peripheral nerves who are responsible for carrying information between the body and brain.
  • Peroneal Nerve Entrapment [say wha?]
    • This basically means that a nerve is being compressed due to inflammation or tension resulting in areas like hips/knee/low back.

It’s always better to get your doctor involved & follow up on their advice/suggestions regarding its treatment (it’s just us Editorial Assistants echoing common sense here!).

Types of Foot Drop Caused by Damage

I know what you’re going to ask; do all forms of impaired perineural nodes cause same kind of foot drop?

Short answer: No way José!

They vary based on location/types specifics connected to affected branch – Let’s have a deeper view into it :

Deep Peroneal Nerve Schwannoma

What even came outta your mouth?

We’ll explain: In layman terms schwannomas are benign tumors which develop through cells located around peripheral system neurons. Although Deep Peroneal nerve aka DP remains comparatively safe due its protected placement usually such development(s) affect flexion area closest towards ankle joint causing mild form(s )of drop foot at times requiring urgent attention if ignored for long period.

Moving onto Superficial Section also known as SS:

L5 Radiculopathy and Superficial Peroneal Neuropathy

Radiculopathy is when the source point where neural network actually starts effects specific vertebrae present in spinal column while mean paralysis may be temporarily caused simply by resting buttocks too close towards sciatic plane restricting blood flowing back towards legs (Jokes apart – occasionally prolonged sitting can result in nasty sensations).

Coming back our discussion, lower leg issues can be easily identified with toes being affected alongside impaired dorsal flexion for ankle region (direct output of weakened SS).

Common Peroneal Limp

Common peroneal nerve helps sensation along area that connects shin bone to the fibula particularly near nostril/tongue-shaped head. In our specialist jargon we name it as Fibular Neck Syndrome!

When traffic around this region jam then motion becomes uncertain denoting a symptomatic display involving sprained ankles/walking specifics.

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis and Foot Drop

Posterior tibial tendon is in charge keeping foot stable while walking where inflammation commonly found causing frequent more severe versions “Severe Flatfoot.”

As it’s produced from running conditions/sprints or forced forwards movements, chances for enduring trauma remain up – Leaving patients constantly search remedies/cures through their ERs/ after-hours clinics…. Such joyful experiences!

Diagnosing Foot Drop Based on Symptoms :

Let’s say you’re feeling off balance / unable to lift your foot properly. Remember baseline feature of foot drop is inability in lifting front toes upwards which may also put maximum pressure over heel hurting all times…the nuisance right?

We listed earlier above several potential causes behind this issue; using a mix and match criteria above mentioned issues are examined if post-hurt / injury pain sensors go into frenzy . Some possible ways experienced medical professionals use to diagnose includes;

  • EMG Tests
  • Nerve conduction study & testing mobility fluctuations during reflex/others triggering mechanisms similar
  • Field generated support diagnostic-imaging tests reveal potentially diagnosed areas
  • X-ray Scans
  • MRIs

Actress Halle Berry is known sufferer from Type II Diabetes which resulted her going through intensive therapies/ constant monitoring maintaining healthy lifestyle ensuring that one can lead normal life despite these odds stacked against us!

Don’t shy away by ignoring signs..watch out keep close eye always better stay protected already enough complications in this world!

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