Cant stand on tip toes and calf muscle atrophy

[Blackfire]

Cant stand on tip toes and calf muscle atrophy

I'm numb from my crotch down the back of my leg to my foot, but noticed in the past 2 weeks or so my right calf muscle was feeling very tight, never paid much attention but over the past few days I noticed I cant tippy toe on that foot and it scares the hell outta me!!

I had severe sciatica last feb (08) lasted for about 10 weeks. Was on Naproxen, Co-Codamol 30-500's and Tramadol for the pain, one day my back went and couldnt walk for about 8 hours, after that it got gradually better (as in pain was less) but developed the numbness now the wasting calf muscle!!

Can anyone help me on this, what I need to do, exercises etc to rebuild the muscle or lessen the numbness.

Does anyone know if the numbness has replaced my severe sciatic pain?
Jon

[sally182]

Hello.. I had back surgery in 2002.. emergency .. told I was lucky not to be paralysed.. I have a permanent limp.. cannot tip toe on my left leg and realize I have a disability.  I am sad to realize I will always have a limp.  Walking for excercise is difficult for me.  I relate to you.  What I dont know is did my surgeon cause this or was the fact the l4 , l5compressed nerve that fragmented into my spinal column create.  I can live with the numbness in the portion of my right genital area and portion of  the rectal area.. numbness in the back of my leg outer thigh.. but the limping is really a bummer.

[Angbn13]

Your comment here hits home very much.  I recently had emergency back surgery due to a herniated disc in my lower back.  The doctor screwed up and I ended up having 2 sugeries in a row because he missed the whole left side of my disc and had to go back in.  Since then I have had a snowball effect of all sorts of other problems due to the nerve damage in my back.  My calf muscles are completely gone.  Mainly in my left leg.  I can't stand on my toes at all and noticed my muscle just hangs in my leg.  I also now am having problems with my female area as the muscle that holds everything into place is also now failing.  I am having a prolaps uterus, prolaps bladder and colon now too.   My colon muscles do not work properly either.  My surgeon has basically kicked me to the curb as he is done with me and tells me to go see my regular doctors now until I need back surgery again.  I have severe nerve damage now and all they tell me is that it can take 6 months to 2 years for my nerves to regenerate if at all.  I am very scared and have a a bunch of more tests coming up here in October for a whole pelvic floor testing and then probably more surgeries.  

[LP1981]

I have had pretty bad back pain which has increased to the back of my leg down to my left calf for about 2 months and have been going to physical therapy.  I was told that my back muscles and quads are too tight and are making my lower back pinch my nerves, just today after attempting to do the exercises my PT showed me I noticed that I am able to stand and lift myself up and down on my right toes however unable to even budge myself with my left leg.  It feels like I have no control of my foot/ankle.  I am however able to move my ankle in all directions as long as no weight is on it.  I appreciate all the info you all have shared and have hopefully saved me a lot of damage.  I am not going to just tough it out and hope it gets better, and going to the doctor and requesting an MRI asap.

[AndGil]

. I had emergency spinal surgery in 2004 due to a severe herniated disc and was tild I could have been paralysed but I was lucky. The pain has gone but I lost the ability to stand on tip toe on my left foot and like you have a limp. I am very conciuous of this and feel people look at me. Its harder to walk uphill than down for obvious reasons. Somewtimes it gets me down but I shouldnt complain. My left calf is nearly 2 inches less in size and is now quite apparent. I was told that I would never have the ability to stand on tip toe again as the nerve damage was permanent, and they weere right as here I am 7 years later. Please keep in touch as no one understands what it feels like, only those like us.

Regards and best wishes

Andrea

[mccoubs]

You may want to be tested for Charcot Marie Tooth which is a mile form of Muscular Dystrophy. I had the same symptoms, I was an athletic person and never had a problem until one day I fell and injured my back. After much exercising and chiropractic work, I still didn't see positive results, so I ended up visiting the MDA and was tested for Muscular Dystrophy. It is a neurological disorder that progresses slowly overtime. But the moment you start realizing the weakness in the calf muscles, that's when it becomes apparent and it almost feels like the symptoms came out of "nowhere". The major symptoms are weakness in the calves, not being able to stand on your toes, and eventually you will have more atrophy of the leg muscle. It is a condition that you can live a very fulfilling life, just might need orthodics, special shoes, and regular exercise to keep the muscles strong that you still have. www.mda.org

[DM1906]

All of your symptoms sound very familar.  Roughly two full months after my second surgery in two years, I'm starting to re-gain strength in my right leg and in my calf.  Definition in the calf is also starting to return.  Going to see a neurologist or a neurosurgeon is definitely the right approach for you.  I didn't do that back in 2008 and saw an Orthopedic surgeon instead.  Mistake on my part!  As you know, the nerves in the back are very sensitive and it is my opinion that the problems I'm now experiencing were caused by my surgery back in 2008.  A neurologist or a neurosurgeon will definitely take the nerves into consideration whenever outlining a treatment plan for you.  I'm optimistic that my improvement will continue and I will regain most of the strength in my leg.    Let me know how you progress and what you decide about a treatment plan.