It is a good day when you go into your neurologist office to determine if you have any nerve issues that are causing your drop foot, the doctor is fairly certain there hasn’t been any changes in this most recent EMG (Electromyography). So it looks like my drop foot isn’t related to my MS. That was the preliminary good news, however, the bad news, my Orthopaedic doctor can’t say that it is an Ortho issue. So, now what to do? Although I am not a doctor, I very much am someone that likes solving problems. Even though I keep all my doctors well informed of test results and any other issue I may have, I don’t feel that I have any solutions for my drop foot. It slowly seems to be getting worse, but why?
So what is drop foot? According to the Mayo Clinic
Foot drop, sometimes called drop foot, is a general term for difficulty lifting the front part of the foot. If you have foot drop, you may drag the front of your foot on the ground when you walk. Foot drop isn’t a disease. Rather, foot drop is a sign of an underlying neurological, muscular or anatomical problem. Sometimes foot drop is temporary. In other cases, foot drop is permanent. If you have foot drop, you may need to wear a brace on your ankle and foot to hold your foot in a normal position.
The EMG helped to rule out any form of nerve impingement that is associated with my drop foot. Because of these positive preliminary results, the other potential issues must be related to muscular issues or anatomical issues. Well, I already know my body is discombobulated to begin with, however, I am fairly certain that it has nothing to do with my drop foot. This leaves a muscular issue. There must be some truth to this because I have severe weakness in my left leg, which is the leg with the drop foot.
I can deal with the limping, but tripping and falling is getting old very quickly! I do have an easier time when I where my MedPro “contraption,” as my daughter Abigail likes to put it, but what else? I guess if i read what I am currently writing, the answer is right in front of me. As a matter of fact, I have being saying I need to do a round of physical therapy for the last couple months.
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I realize anything I say that doesn’t say I am going to physical therapy is really an excuse. But people that deal with MS also deal with an emotional roller coaster. This piece of MS is really a struggle for me to wrap my hands around because i have never had to deal with anything like this. Despite all the challenges I have had to deal with in life, I have pretty much had a positive attitude. I still have a positive attitude, but these days it’s the motivation to move, and when you are dealing with chronic pain and you have difficulty walking, sometimes you just don’t want to.