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I knew I had a bad lumbar disc but I put off having surgery. Now I've developed a drop foot from pressure on the nerve. Did I wait too long?

Drop foot (sometimes called foot drop) is caused by pressure on the spinal nerve root as it leaves the spinal cord. A bulging disc or other degenerative disorder of the lumbar spine can have this effect.

Nerve impairment can result in muscle weakness. When the L5 nerve is affected, motor loss of the tibialis anterior muscle can occur. The tibialis anterior is the muscle along the front of the lower leg. It pulls the foot up toward the face. Weakness of this muscle results in the toes dragging along the floor as the foot and leg move forward.

Surgery to remove pressure from the nerve can prevent this problem from happening. For those patients who don't have the surgery soon enough, drop foot can be permanent. The sooner surgery is done, the better your chances are for full recovery.

In a recent study from Japan, researchers found that more than half the patients did recover function. Only about one-third had a complete recovery. These patients were younger, had greater strength of the tibialis anterior muscle before surgery, and a shorter duration of symptoms.

You have a much better chance of recovery with the surgery than without. Talk to your surgeon about what to expect. Motor recovery can be a slow process taking up to two full years for complete return of strength.

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