Radiculopathy vs Peripheral Neuropathy - weakness in calves

Has anyone noticed a weakness in calves/lower legs when walking? I have numbness in the bottoms of my feet, and sometimes tingling and burning. It has affected my balance a bit, but I find that wearing "nearly barefoot" shoes helps a lot, as I can feel the ground or floor better. But I still seem to have this weakness in my calves. I had lumbar laminectomy in Nov. 2022. For a year before that I could hardly walk because of pain in legs and hips. After the surgery, the terrible hip/leg pain was gone, but I then noticed numbness/tingling in my feet. After waiting 8 months to get in to see a neurologist, he reviewed my EMG and skin biopsy results and he said that rather than peripheral neuropathy he thinks I have radiculopathy, which is coming from remaining compression on some nerves in my lower back that reach down to my feet. Either way, I deal with similar issues. The neuro could not guarantee that a lumbar fusion would help with the radiculopathy. Anyone had lumbar fusion and improved?? Best wishes! Mike