I have drop foot, not enough to require bracing, but enough that when walking I remind myself to do the PT recommended “exaggerated heel strike”- on the step-through, you consciously flex your ankle and land heel first (its automatic now- 4 years in with PN). When outside walking, the PT also recommended and I wear Core Products International Ankle Foot Orthosis (bought on Amazon). It has a soft lower leg wrap and elastic bands which hook onto end hooks you put in the last holes of your tie sneakers- pops the toes up a bit as you walk- very comfortable and works great. I also do a daily home exercise program for strengthening that my PT gave me years ago- most are in the video John Bishop posted.
My understanding of what’s going on is that the nerves which innervate the muscles of the calf, ankle, and foot have been and are continuing to be de-nervated- meaning fewer nerve signals getting to fewer muscle fibers to tell them what to do, which causes the muscle fibers to atrophy, which causes weakness as fewer muscle fibers are “pulling together” to make the movement.
I have the mild hammer toes too- the toe extensor muscles are getting fewer signals coming down the nerves and are being overwhelmed by the flexor muscles, which are receiving full strength nerve signals. This is why some of us have “dents” in our lower leg muscles- my soleus muscle (helps with ankle function and balance) has a big dent- some nerve signals are getting through to some muscle fibers, but not a lot and my balance is off.
I used to call my PN leg my “polio leg” because it was like a stick. But with the daily exercise program and 30 min walking (treadmill in winter, outside good weather), it is still smaller around than the other leg, but the muscles have definitely “fleshed out”.
Have you heard that story about the couple who thought they were going on their dream overseas trip, but ended up in a completely different country?They were very upset at first, but as the days went by, they realized they were meeting really nice people they never would have met if the original trip had happened. I think about that sometimes, I wouldn’t wish PN on anybody, but what nice people I’ve met along the way- especially this group, our mentors, and new friends. Love and peace to all (healing would be nice too😊).