How much more can I expect to recover from foot drop?

Tagged: foot drop nerve damage inversion table infared lamp

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

Author

Posts
Bmcnallen
Participant

September 22, 2017 at 12:18 am

Post count: 3

#26431

Dr Corenman, you are a blessing. Thank you for providing such a valuable service for sufferers like myself. I am an active 44 year old female. I have suffered from occasional back pain through out my life.
On May 14 I was on the mend from a week of low back pain when I caused more pain swinging a golf club. This time was a different pain. It was low in my sacrum area and I could not sit down and had to shuffle instead of walk.

May 21 woke up with what felt like a charlie horse that lasted an hour and then my foot when numb and lower leg was tingly to touch.

May 31 I took 50mg prednisone for 5 days and I started using an inversion table, near in-fared lamp, corrected my posture and ice 2x daily. 3 days later 50% of feeling came back to leg and foot.

June 6 Shooting, throbbing pain in foot and lower leg, lasted a week then stopped. Back pain is gone. Visit with Neurosurgeon, diagnosed foot drop and went for MRI. Results: T11-T12 herniation measuring up to 3mm AP. T12-L1, L1-L2,L2-L3, L3-L4 disk bulge or herniation from 2mm – 4mm AP. L4-L5 diffuse disc bulge up to 3.5mm also superimposed large broad-based posterior central to left paracentral disk herniation of 10mm AP and migrating 8mm caudally with annular tear, flattens the anterior aspect of thecal sac compresses the nerve roots at this level, most directly the L5 nerve root. L5-S1 disc bulge up to 4mm. superimposed broad-based posterior central disk herniation of 7mm AP and migrating 3mm caudally with annular tear, mildly flattens anterior aspect of thecal sac. I left out anything that was only mild.

September 18 In the last 2 months feeling has slowly came back, now I have 95% feeling back in foot and leg. Sometimes after using inversion table I have 100% feeling back. My big toe is sensitive to all touch and the faster I walk the more numb my toes get. My back seldom aches and its mostly from sitting up straight all the time. I walk 2x a day, hang on inversion table, I have corrected my posture (no forward bending) I use in-fared lamp directed down the length of my nerve, stretch, core exercises daily and play golf 2x a week (with a neutral spine alignment swing). I’m wondering if you think my nerve is still compressed or its healing from the compression? Neurosurgeon says surgery, but I want to wait and see if next month I am not at 100% all the time. Have you seen a similar situation and what could I expect if I do not have surgery. Thank you for your time and any information you can give me.

Brandi McNallen in Texas

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

September 23, 2017 at 8:14 am

Post count: 8660

#26440

Your report of numbness and leg pain is the typical sequella from a nerve root compression and by itself does not concern me. What does concern me is the foot drop (motor weakness) which can be permanent if the nerve is not decompressed in a timely fashion. See https://neckandback.com/conditions/how-muscles-recover-from-nerve-injuries/. With significant motor weakness present, I generally advocate a microdisectomy.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

Bmcnallen
Participant

September 23, 2017 at 1:08 pm

Post count: 3

#26459

Thank you for your fast reply. I can lift my foot and toes with ease. My big toe is the only part that feels numb and sensitive, but I can move it around just like the other foot. Does that mean I have foot drop? Are you saying that my nerve is still compressed rather than healing from the compression? I read the link about the 4 different nerve injuries. Which one am I? Thank you

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

September 23, 2017 at 3:38 pm

Post count: 8660

#26466

Can you walk on your heels and keep your foot off the ground for 20 steps? If so, you don’t have foot drop. I generally don’t have too much concern for isolated big toe weakness unless you are a punter, a karate expert or a rock climber. I cannot identify the type of nerve injury. Only time and recovery can define this.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

Bmcnallen
Participant

September 23, 2017 at 8:28 pm

Post count: 3

#26470

I can walk 20 steps holding my foot up to the same height as the other, but it doesn’t stay raised as long as the good foot. Is that still ‘foot drop’?

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

September 24, 2017 at 9:40 am

Post count: 8660

#26475

That is foot drop but mild weakness. If you walk and the foot does not “lag”, slap or catch on the ground, you will probably be OK.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
Author

Posts

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel