I have foot drop on both sides, and have been fitted with custom braces (AFO's). It can be caused when the peroneal nerve demylenates causing the foot to not receive the message to lift the foot. It may also be caused when the lesion in the brain is located in such a place that the message to lift the foot never gets to the foot.
I have never heard of the overpowering of larger muscles or the stretching of tendons causing it.
so a brace would be the only solution to fix this?
i have the same problem too my left foot does not drag at the heel but sometimes it drops & i drag the front
Yes, it is an AFO. My ortho told me it had to do with my tendon stretching. He didn't label it drop foot, but my neuro did.
Addi
Is your brace an Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO?) They are usually used to prevent "foot drop" in MS patients. This can happen when the bigger muscles in the back of the lower leg over-power the two smaller muscles in the front and tend to pull your toes and foot down.
Bob
I was having this issue with my right foot but I had ankle pain and popping with it. The outcome for me is that I have a brace that keeps my foot where it is suppose to be and also springs my foot up when I walk. It works pretty good.
Addi
Yep, mine does both - the heel of my foot or the sole of my foot will scuff across the ground.
That's a good explanation for it Bob.
-Kelly
My right foot is catching at the heel also. My left foot has foot drop. I don't know what is up. I wish it moved better. It makes me trip.
So if you think you are picking up your foot, that may be true, but the sensors are not getting their signal back to the cerebellum to let your motor cortex know that the leg is high enough or one of the other data sources is messed up. I sometimes "scuff" my foot flat across the ground and catch my toe on sidewalk cracks or thresholds.
It is actually one of the more difficult symptoms, because it can be hard for the doctor to detect or evaluate. It is also one of the number one causes of "falls." This is one of the things that I have found good neurologists always seem to ask: "Have you fallen in the last six months?" or "Have you fallen since your last appointment?"
Bob