Drop foot

[Coby Taylor]

Hey Hippies ,

So I’m 7 weeks post op and from developing foot drop from the surgery . Hips fine . But the nerve pain and muscle pain from the foot drop is way worse than any osteo arthritic pain I endured from the hip before . I get more nerve conductivity test in 2 days so hopefully it can show where the nerve was damaged and eta for recovery. At the moment I can move my foot downward and toes down too , only slightly and flex my Achilles’ tendon and calf . But no dorsiflexion at all, my physio says she can feel a slight flicker but I can’t feel anything.
I’ve had a friend who works in the public health system here in Australia and she says the rate of incidents in public hip replacement/ Re surfacing is like 1 in 50 . I had no idea it was this common and really was not even really explained to that this could be an outcome . To put it bluntly I think I would rather have osteo pain than crippled with this nerve pain which is really hard to control .
Anyway just seeing if there is any if you out there that have gone through this , and have help with recovery plans , medications , and probably time for relief from nerve pain . Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Coby Taylor
Right hip resurfacing ceramic on ceramic

[Pat Walter]

Coby
I am sorry you are still struggling with the drop foot. I hope they can find a solution for you, soon.
I have read thousands of hip resurfacing stories and problems.  I have only heard of people with drop foot a few times.  If it were something that happened every 50 surgeries, I am sure we would see many more posts about it.  It is not something that has been even talked about at the hip resurfacing conferences I use to attend.  I will do some more research and if I find anything to post about it, I certainly will add it to the website.
Meanwhile, I wish you the best and hope you can find a solution soon.
Pat

[jimbone]

Coby

Sorry to hear you're having difficulty and dealing with pain, it must be disappointing.  I can't offer any real insight but you might look into the THR websites.  Before learning about and choosing HR I did a lot of reading on that site and there were some folks dealing with similar conditions as yours.  Might find something that could help if only to learn it's something that will eventually fade out.  Best of luck.

[frigator]

I have been dealing with nerve pain myself from the procedure and they put me on Lyrica which  helps with the nerve pain. I also ice the areas that really hurt. I hope you find relief. I found those nerve conduction tests to be pretty painful. Hope yours turn out better. I too would rather deal with the arthritis than this pain.

[Coby Taylor]

Hey Everyone,

So I am now 5 months since the drop foot nerve injury. Still the surgeon can’t tell me how the injury happened exactly, which is strange to me as surely he should have some idea of what went wrong . Did he dislocate the leg too much ? , be to aggressive moving the sciatic nerve to operate? Take too long putting pressure on the nerve ? . I’m the third person he has had this happen to . Any way no real change so far , getting a little more strength , still no upward movement. A guy contacted me who was operated on by a Jason Brockwell , had this same injury and he took 14 months to get recovery, and full Recovery , he is back playing competitive tennis and running . So this gives me hope that I too can recover, still a long way to go . Looking back on the last 5 months , I have recovered some what . I could not even balance on my foot and I can now balance a little . I see the surgeon again this Thursday but the hip joint feels great , just so disappointing this drop foot happened or I feel I could be back surfing, jogging and doing all the normal activities I use too. I know I need to just stay positive and keep working on healing . Any one else out there with this injury please feel free to get in touch. Coby010679@yahoo.com.au . Thanks

[jimbone]

Coby,

Glad to hear you're making some progress however limited and frustrating.  Just like the decision to have surgery is a sort of jump off a cliff, so too it the decision to persevere toward recovery.  Both are lonely and hard.  The other person you mentioned finally recovered demonstrates the body seeks balance, wants to feel "right" and just needs a pilot that will stay the course.  I can remember my dad working to recover from a stroke at 55 that affected his right hand, leg and minimally his speech.  He worked at it all that summer and by early fall he'd made it back.  Determination, patience, perseverance and some help from your friends might see you through.  Keep at it.  Best wishes. Stay positive.

[Pat Walter]

Coby - glad to hear things are a little better.  Hopefully, things will get much better with time.  Thanks for keeping us updated.  I wish you the best.
Pat

[Coby Taylor]

Hey Guys ,

So I’m now 8 months since the injury of the nerve . Still searching for answers how this happens , like do the surgeons stretch the nerve , pinch it and stop the blood supply etc but can’t get a straight answer out of any surgeon I contact. A patient of Dr Jason Brockman contacted me as he went through this truly debilitating injury and he was lucky and made a full recovery. It took him close to fifteen months but is now back playing tennis and ice hockey . Fingers crossed I can do the same and don’t require Either tendon transfer or ankle fusion to be able to walk properly again. I can only walk maybe a kilometre tops and on top of that the pressure relying on my other resurfaced hip has resulted in a bursa or sack of fluid on the side of my hip causing groin pain when I try to lift and hold my leg a 90 degrees while standing.
I’ve been trying to exercise, like lift weights , row , ride a bike with limited success and I’m continuing accupuncture and taking cbd oil as I’ve heard that’s good for nerves. It such a slow mentally draining recovery with absolute no certainty. I can move my toes and ankle down a little but not with enough strength to go on my tippie toes , and just recently I’m able to separate my little toe and fourth toe

[jimbone]

Hi Coby-

It does sound frustrating but at the same time like you're making progress.  If possible the other patient you're communicating with who had the same problem and made a full recovery might continue to inform you of the timeline to recuperate.  Speaking optimistically, if the new developments of some movement, balance and spreading the toes were something you couldn't do a few months back then it indicates some healing even if it's too slow to feel tolerable.  Rebuilding/re-navigating damaged nerve pathways is from all I've read a slow process in general.  Glad to hear you're seeing some progress and look forward to hearing continued recovering.  Have you consulted with any of the other top surgeons about this and not just the ones who've seen this in their patients?