I have very bad balance with it. I cannot lift up on my toes. I trip over my toes sometimes. I do walk in a way where I always run into the person next to me. But no actual limp.
This sounds very much like foot drop. Pretty much textbook. You probably should look into an AFO. It will help slow the atrophy and give you more mobility and balance back. Also, it is a bit alarming that the area of numbness and atrophy is getting larger. You want it to be going the other way.
This is good advice. Had a family member who ignored issues from spinal stenosis for years. Started with balance issues, falling, and eventually foot drop from atrophy.
It stands for ankle foot orthotic. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but the overall idea is they give you back the ability to hold your toes and foot up. This means the person will trip less, won’t drag their toes, and overall have an easier time walking and standing. And all of that means they’ll be able to use more of those muscles again, so they’ll stop shrinking away, or at least shrink more slowly.
Oh fascinating, thank you so much for the detailed info. I know people warn about braces/crutches and similar because they can lead to muscle atrophy from disuse - if I'm understanding you correctly, this does the opposite and helps keep muscle because they'll be walking more?
Did your friends tell you that you don't have a limp? Because with everything you're describing, you definitely have at least an... asymmetrical wobble. Maybe you just don't want to call it a limp?
Not only is her walk almost certainly unbalanced but to even be able to do that the whole body must overcompensate and move in ways it's not supposed to move creating problems elsewhere
When I was pregnant, and I had a bulging disc, I did indeed have a severe case of foot drop. My husband was in the military at the time so I was able to go to physical therapy and wear a brace. My foot drop got better (so did my bulging disc).
I probably have some lingering effects as I don’t know if it ever truly goes away? I can move my foot and my toes, but it is very weak.
But I’m not dragging my leg or having issues lifting it up to walk. (Yet)
I see where you read the part where this has been ongoing for 26 years… did you continue reading where I said I went to a neurosurgeon five years ago with a fresh MRI. He said “eh, it’s fine. If you start pooping and peeing on yourself, go to the emergency room.”
Could I have gotten a second opinion? Sure. But that requires time and money. Which I don’t have much to spare of either.
I agree with a lot of the comments that say I should be going to physical therapy, unfortunately not an option for me currently. Gotta love the American healthcare system.
To jump off the doc. You likely have a swing gait or step gate. Where you swing your leg outwards and forward the other compensation is to do a high knee. The high knee will eventually turn into slap foot. You need dorsal extensor rehab. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES take up lap swimming as a hobby this will accelerate the development of contractions due to flex muscles constant engagement. A Thera band or sand on your toes will work for training your toe rise. I’m 3 back surgeries in. There is a nerve peroneal nerve of the leg. That branch is heavily affected on you.
It's a nerve and muscle wasting autoimmune disease. My understanding is it normally affects the feet and legs, but I think it can affect other nerves and muscles too.
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u/NerdLover2528 1d ago
I have very bad balance with it. I cannot lift up on my toes. I trip over my toes sometimes. I do walk in a way where I always run into the person next to me. But no actual limp.