Drop foot, also known as foot drop, is a condition where the sufferer cannot lift the front section of their foot. This leads to a high stepping gait where the knee is raised higher than normal so that the toes don't drag along the ground. Sometimes, you might find yourself swinging your leg out to the side to avoid the foot touching the floor inappropriately. Whether your drop foot is a new problem or you've been dealing with it for years, you're sure to benefit from using a specially designed ankle foot orthosis.
There are several possible causes of drop foot that fit more or less neatly into three categories. The most common cause is injury to the peroneal nerve which runs across the back of the knee and down the outside of the lower leg. It can easily become compressed due to habitual leg crossing or otherwise damaged as a result of sports injuries or knee surgery.
Less commonly, drop foot results from diseases that affect neuromuscular function. Such diseases include infections like polio and inherited conditions like muscular dystrophy. Other neurological causes result from damage further up the spinal cord and even in the brain itself. These conditions include multiple sclerosis and stroke. Drop foot may also present as part of the potentially many symptoms and signs of cerebral palsy.
Some of these conditions are treatable, or at least manageable, whereas others are not. This affects the degree to which a drop foot brace would be useful, but it's always worth a try. You never know how far you can go until you give it a shot.
Whether you opt for a brace, boot or splint depends on the cause of your drop foot and how it affects you on a day-to-day basis. A drop foot brace can be used to help you get yourself back into walking with a more normal gait. It covers the ankle and foot in such a way that your foot position is stable and you can easily avoid injuring your toes.
Drop foot boots go one step further and offer all of the benefits of a brace but with the added effect of minimizing the uneven pressure distribution over the whole foot. This is achieved via a cutout heel section which prevents it from making any contact with surfaces that would increase pressure on and thus pain to the heel region.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for something a little less conspicuous, you might get a great deal of benefit from a splint. You can hide a splint within a normal shoe and still get an adequate level of support for your drop foot. The best splints even come with a memory foam pad to reduce the pain in specific areas of increased pressure.
If your drop foot is a temporary condition, you can use these orthotic devices to get your foot back to its best. If your drop foot is a more permanent fixture, you'll still benefit from using an orthosis even if it won't actually cure your drop foot.
Whatever the trouble, an ankle foot orthosis is sure to do you a world of good.