If you are having trouble lifting your toes, tend to drag your foot when walking or find yourself tripping as you step you may have foot drop. Foot drop is a symptom that is the result of an underlying medical condition. It can be permanent or temporary. Understanding what causes this condition can help you to manage your symptoms and play an active role in your care.
Weak Muscles
According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, foot drop can occur when the muscles located beneath the knee that are involved in lifting the toes are weak or paralyzed. This can be caused by both muscle and nerve damage or a combination of the two. This condition can make the person lift the knee abnormally high when walking as if he were walking upstairs.
Nerve Damage
Foot drop can occur when there is nerve damage which inhibits the nerve signals traveling to the muscles that control the foot. The nerves can be damaged due to an injury, disease or as the result of surgery. The Mayo Clinic states that "Pressure to the nerve on the outside of the shinbone just below the knee (peroneal nerve), as you might experience if you sit with your legs crossed for too long, can trigger temporary foot drop."
Medical Conditions
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke report that conditions that cause muscular or nerve degeneration can lead to foot drop. "Causes include neurodegenerative disorders of the brain that cause muscular problems, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, and cerebral palsy; motor neuron disorders, such as polio, some forms of spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease); injury to the nerve roots, such as in spinal stenosis; peripheral nerve disorders such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease or acquired peripheral neuropathy; local compression or damage to the peroneal nerve as it passes across the fibular bone below the knee; and muscle disorders, such as muscular dystrophy or myositis."
Injuries to the Spine
The Spine Universe claims that foot drop can be caused when there is an injury or pressure on the nerves in the spine including "... compression from lumbar disc herniation (e.g. L4, L5 and S1), trauma to the sciatic nerve, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, spinal cord injury, bone fractures (leg, vertebrae), stroke, tumor, diabetes, lacerations, gunshot wounds or crush-type injuries." This compression limits nerve impulses from getting to the legs, causing muscle atrophy and weakness.
Medications
According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, certain medications, such as ones used to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, may create drop foot as a side effect.
