Cathy/foot drop

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In a message dated 10/11/04 9:04:05 PM Pacific Daylight Time, RSD-CRPSofAmerica writes:

hello. i have been in a wheelchair for 11 years now. no i cannot walk on

foot. it has dropped as far as the foot will go. and now itis turning

inward. haven't been able to put weight on it since the awful day of

surgery. i have one pretty leg (twiggy) and the other leg big muscles

( arnold swartzneggera) s go figure.

Hi Cathy.

Your legs sound just like mine. My RSD leg is about half the size of my other. I also have bad scars from the original injury and the skin grafts. Not a pretty sight. I have been working for 4 years in PT and it has helped a lot. I had foot drop; and then it developed contractures of the ankle. My foot was in a pointed position so I was unable to walk at all. My ortho had me in PT and they worked on it for about a year with little results. I only gained like 20-30 degrees. At this point he did surgery to correct it. I don't know if this is something that could help you but maybe you could ask your doc. The surgery is called a Z-plasty, they cut and stretch the Achilles tendon into a functional position then cast it for a long time. I had great success with this, I was able to bear weight after a while and walk with crutches. The only problem is that my toes still have contractures and point down. I wear a brace for this to keep them straight. I hope this might help a little. Take care, Love Jai