Hi everybody, I don’t post here too often but I’ve a question about drop foot. I have mild MS. Yesterday I tripped 3 times for no reason. The third time I went flying and I’ve cut my hand quite badly.
Im concerned as each time I tripped I could see no reason to have tripped. The floor was even, no debris or anything to trip over.
I wonder, for the people who have drop foot symptoms, are you aware that there is an issue with your movement whilst you are walking / running - or do you just trip “for no reason”. All is fine today and was fine other than those 3 times so maybe I was just having a weird day.
It was a glorious summer day in ??? (cognitive decline means I don’t really have a clue when) and I had an urge to drink a cold pint in the pub beer garden. So knowing full well that my husband never refuses the chance to go for a drink, my fate was sealed and off we went.
I had already got a tiny bit of a tan from sitting outside so I wore white linen trousers and a white top.
Clutching my longed for pint I walked outside and saw a zillion friends there.
I tripped over what I thought was a kerb (it wasn’t) and landed on my nose.
About 10 people rushed over and tried to pick me up but I really didn’t want to bleed all over my white clothes and have to go home. I waited until someone brought a packet of paper towels and didn’t bleed on my clothes.
I was so happy that I knew so many kind people and that I could stay out!
Blimey it feels like another century. You know when we used to have summer weather?
Seriously you may only need an insole so see a podiatrist,
Oh wow not a good thing to happen though was it. xx
i had an issue with thinking i was stepping up when there was no step lol. the times i literally went flying it was a weird feeling. never knew why i had that lol.
Hi Wabbit, foot drop was a serious problem for me in the beginning. No, you dont get any warning or feeling, that your foot hasnt lifted as you walk…my husband used to say ‘Why do you fall over fresh air?’
I used to fall several times again and some were quite spectacular.
You could enquire about FES, or a SAFO boot. Your physio can advise you.
Foot drop tends to start pretty much how you describe and slowly gets worse over time, at least it did in my case. You can get aids to help, although some work better than others. Personally, I think FES is the best available solution.
Hi, I have a FES device (functional electrical stimulation device) and its like a tens machine with a sensor in your shoe. It helps lift your foot slightly higher without thinking. Slow your walk down helps aswell
Thanks for your comments everyone. I’ve never had this happen before, and it was just like tripping over air. Excellent description. it was at the end of a very long run. I’ve seen there are marathon runners with MS and they use a strap / clamp type device to keep their foot in a more upward position. I’ve messed up my left hand quite badly on the knuckle but realise it could’ve been much worse. I will look at FES. Thanks.
