 | Bonnie Stephens, RN, is a clinical liaison for Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital, an affiliate of HealthSouth and provider of inpatient and outpatient physical, occupational and speech-language therapies and exclusive home of the AutoAmbulator robotic treadmill used in gait training. Bonnie is co-director of the Traumatic Brain Injury support group that meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital. She can be reached at 729-1099, 8338 W. 13th Street in Wichita. |
Health & Medicine
2008-05-01 13:20:00
What is foot drop?
Question: A friend of mine is having trouble with something called ‘foot drop’ since he had a stroke. What is this condition and is there any treatment for it?
Answer: Foot drop is a condition that causes a person great difficulty in walking because they are unable to lift the front portion of their foot with each step. This typically results in a scuffing of the toes when trying to walk with the afflicted leg, an action that many patients try to avoid by developing an overcompensating gait pattern which includes lifting the knee higher than normal when taking a step.
Foot drop is typically caused by an interruption of normal neurological functioning through injury or illness by conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, brain injury, a spinal disorder, or as in your friend’s case, a stroke.
Physical therapy is commonly used to treat patients with foot drop and today, some patients are seeing very good results from a device known as the NESS L300 System, made by Bioness, Inc., of California. A tool used as part of a therapy program, the NESS L300 is a device that straps to the leg and uses electronic stimulation to help retrain a person’s gait, or walking pattern.
Small and lightweight, the device consists of three components: a leg cuff, a sensor attached to the shoe, and a hand-held remote. The cuff, an easy-to-remove device that is fitted to the afflicted leg below the knee, contains electrodes that stimulate the muscles in answer to signals sent by the shoe sensor. The sensor, which features Intelli-Sense™ technology, automatically recognizes the foot’s position and adjusts its signal to accommodate various surfaces, elevations, and walking speeds. The remote gives the patient using the device easy-to-use control of the system.
The NESS L300 System is programmed by a specially trained therapist, who works with the patient to fit the device and tailor a program for its use. Used regularly, the NESS L300 System can help increase blood flow and range of motion, prevent atrophy and development of abnormal walking patterns, encourage flexibility and inhibit contractures, and enable a patient to walk with greater confidence and thereby regain an increased level of independence.
