Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
1168317 tn?1330262837

foot drop?? reflex issues

hi folks
iv just been refered back to my nuero again by my gp after my chiropractor i have been seeing due to back pain.Noticed i had some loss of reflex in my legs and arms.And an abnormal plantor reflex she says its best to get it checked out by a nuero as she not sure as to the cause. i also have developed foot drop on my left foot. could this be caused by a leision ?
i had an mri 18 months ago and had two white spots and was told it was not conclusive enough for a dx and to see how my symtoms progressed .
any thoughts on this would help
regards
bairdy
6 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Like Paster Dan, my knee reflexes are hyper and intermittent and have also wondered the same q's. When i had my neuro exam, my left leg was hard to control (not now yeah), intention tremor in left arm and leg but it was the continual movement of my right leg that was really unexpected, i'd not seen it, felt it but not seen it. I cant imagine anyone being able to 'fake' what i see my legs do, i even have trouble with the idea that someone with a psychological issue could manifest this type of thing but it wasnt hard for my neuro to dismiss it when the MRI didn't show enough for him.

I have researched this thought but i havent found anything that confirms what some neuro's seem to think possible, its not written in neuro or psych papers, a plethra on 'invisible' sx but not visible. I also think you'll find the elbow and wrist are independent of of the lower limbs but i'm always happy to be corrected ;-)

Cheers......JJ
Helpful - 0
751951 tn?1406632863
Well, with Q's straightforward description of foot drop, it's plain to me that I have had it frequently but intermittently all through this saga.

While we're on this question, I'll ask a few related.  I've had what I consider to be hyper knee reflexes for quite some time, but the neuros doing the exams don't seem to think anything about it.  How subjective are the criteria and/or application of them when determining what kind of reflex response is heightened, lessed, or just the way Goldilocks likes her porridge?  I've wondered, is this something that could be well faked, and are the docs I've seen possibly disinterested in this aspect of the neuro exam because of that?

Also, if the reflexes in the knees are increased, will those in the elbow and wrist be also, or do they vary independent of one another?
Helpful - 0
1168317 tn?1330262837
hi
well it all started about six years ago with the odd strange symptom.
very tired,numbness, and pins and needles,
but my doc said stress or depression, typicle excuses you know the drill.
he put me on anti depressants but i stopped taking them due to them making me worse.and no effect on the original symptom.
so i just ignored them and tried to get on with my life. but still had problems including forgetting basic things and blurred vission so i went back and he said its all in my mind get a grip!!!!!!!! .
i changed my doctor cos i had what he called paresthesia in my hand very bad i could bite it !! and not feel it very scary!!!.
he said have i ever been tested for ms !! and sent me to the neuro who gave me a full exam and said i had deffinitive weakness on my left side and odd reflex issues.
so i had an mri of my brain without contrast i now know cos nothing was injected in me during the scan.
i went back for the results and was told two white spots but not conclusive enough for a dx and to see how my symtoms went on and to go back to my gp.
a few months later i went back to my gp again with pain and stiffness feeling like a seventy year old .
he tested me for fibromyalgia and was negative he said its one of those mysterys see how you go on.
so i have not been for ages and just battled on with numbness on my legs like being wraped in tubigrip bandage  back pain,electric shock pains,funny eyes jumping.and stiffness. i finally went back cos of what my chiro said and you know the rest
any thoughts would be interesting??
regards
bairdy
Helpful - 0
147426 tn?1317265632
Hi, and another welcome to the forum!  We would like to hear more about what kind of symptoms you have been having such that you had an MRI 18 months ago.

In MS it is unusual, but not impossible to have a reduced tendon reflex.  They are almost always increased.  There is a condition that is called the MS of the peripheral nervous system called CIDP (Chronic Immune/Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyradiculoneuropathy) that has decreased or absent tendon reflexes.

Foot drop is be due to a loss of signal to the muscle that pulls the forefoot up toward the knees (the tibialis anterior).  It can happen from a lesion anywhere along the nerve to that muscle from the peripheral nervous system to the spinal cord to the brain.

I'm not sure that you need to change neuros.  It would depend on what basis he had for wanting to just watch and wait.  2 lesions is not enough to diagnose everyone with MS.

I do agree that you need to see the/a neuro and have the MRI repeated.  That should be the next thing on your agenda.  But, do tell us what your other symptoms have been.

Meg - Drop Foot is when the person can't bring the toes up (toward the knee).  It interferes with walking.  As we take a stride forward we pull our toes and forefoot upwards to clear the floor.  If we can't pull them up, they point downward and drag on the floor.  A drop foot does not let us place the heel down first in a step forward.  We tend to lift the leg and the foot goes down in front of us with a "slap".

Quix
Helpful - 0
429700 tn?1308007823
Yes, foot drop can be due to a lesion in the CNS.  You must get in to see a neuro ASAP.  You need to have MRIs more frequently than every 18 months if you're experiencing symptoms.  I hope your not going back to the same neuro.  
Helpful - 0
620048 tn?1358018235
I am afraid I have not answers for you, just a question..........what is foot drop?  Have always wanted to ask but just got around to it...

thanks, meg
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Multiple Sclerosis Community

Top Neurology Answerers
987762 tn?1671273328
Australia
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease