Drop Foot
Causes of Drop Foot
A leading cause of drop foot is injury to the peroneal nerve (a branch of the sciatic nerve). Damage to this nerve can result from injury, knee or hip replacement surgery, diabetes, or even from sitting for long periods with your legs crossed. Compression of the spine (spinal stenosis) or injuries to nerve roots (“pinched nerve”) in the spine can also cause drop foot. People with diabetes are more at risk for the condition due to diabetic neuropathy, which commonly affects the nerves in the lower extremities. Nerve disorders such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease can also cause drop foot.
Other causes may include:
- Stroke;
- Multiple sclerosis (MS);
- Muscular dystrophy;
- Cerebral palsy;
- Poliomyelitis;
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (often called “Lou Gehrig’s disease”);
- Herniated disk;
- Brain or spinal cord injury.