September 22 is National Foot Drop Awareness Day
Foot drop is when a person has difficulty lifting the front part of their foot. If a person has foot drop, the front of their foot might drag on the ground when they walk. Foot drop is not a disease itself; it is a sign of an underlying neurological, muscular or anatomical problem. These problems can be caused by a nerve injury, muscle disorder, nerve disorder, brain disorder, or spinal cord disorder.1 For women who have sustained foot drop from childbirth, generally it is their peroneal nerve that has been affected.
Foot drop after childbirth can be devastating (as can all foot drop). It can be hard to diagnose, hard to get proper care, hard to care for oneself, and hard to care for one’s new baby. Experiences and moments a new mom hoped for can be ripped away, while she just tries to get through the day with one or both of her feet and ankles not working properly.
Hopefully with more awareness about foot drop and nerve damage from childbirth, we can prevent more of these injuries and protect more women from these situations. In honor of this time of awareness, please read this story from Jodi M, who suffered from bilateral foot drop after the birth of her first child:
After suffering from bilateral foot drop during labor and delivery, I never knew if I would ever be able to live a normal life again. No doctor could tell me anything about my condition other than, “We’ve never seen anything like this before.” I went home handicapped with a newborn and no answers. Every morning I prayed to have just enough strength to get me through the day. The days felt so long and it seemed as though I was only able to survive second by second. Moving on seemed impossible.
And then one day, physical healing began to slowly happen. It started with a slight wiggle which led to ankle movement which led to better mobility. Before I knew it, I went from barely being able to maneuver my walker a few feet to the bathroom to being able to walk around a store holding onto the cart. Every milestone I hit was a celebration, but only in that moment. I had put so many hours into physical therapy to be able to walk again. I was close to living the life I was praying so hard for but why were there still days of tears and hopelessness? Why was I still finding it so hard to move on?
It took some time to understand that after something as traumatic as becoming paralyzed from childbirth, moving on wasn’t the answer. I did not have the capability to forget what had happened on July 29th, but instead I shifted my focus to moving forward. “I still have so long to go before I am fully healed. I wish this had never happened to me” became “But look how far you’ve come! Your past is not where you are right now.” I started to turn what had happened to me after giving birth into my greatest testimony and eventually began to find hope and joy in life again!
Since healing from bilateral foot drop I was able to go on and have another baby with a successful delivery! My kids are such a blessing and I treasure all the memories I have made with them!! I have also been able to use my story to bring awareness and advocate for other women suffering from maternal nerve injuries.
I hope that this National Foot Drop Awareness Day post inspires others to tell their stories and helps them to embrace their own journeys of moving forward!
For more information about peroneal nerve damage from childbirth, please visit our link above “Peroneal Nerve Damage.” For more information about foot drop, please visit the “National Foot Drop Society.”
- Mayo Clinic. “Foot Drop.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/foot-drop/symptoms-causes/syc-20372628
Nerve Damage from Childbirth 