Suggest Treatment For Foot Drop And Intermittent Cramps During Activity

Posted on Fri, 2 Jan 2015

Question: I am a runner with complete drop foot. I am not able to engage my calf muscle other than pushing down. I wear an AFO while running. I was running in a 9.3 mile race yesterday and had to quit within sight of the finish line due to calf cramps in the bad leg. The weather 70 and XXXXXXX but I have done other events in warmer temps. I have had cramps before but only after the event was over. While those were severe, they were only for a few minutes, sometime come and go for awhile but never continuous.

Yesterday, the cramping continued for over an hour and brought to tears. I was far worse than childbirth and I have had 5 children naturally. Is there anything I can do to prevent recurrence?

I should add that I have allergies taking zyrtec, singular and a nasal spray-Fluticasone

Also, I do have exercised induced asthma and using an inhaler, dullera daily and Ventolin before exercise and as needed

no other health issues

Answered by Dr. Geldon Fejzo (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Probable muscular strain

Detailed Answer:
Hello, I have been through your question and understand your concern.

The calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soelus muscle do not cause foot drop, which is caused by the tibial muscles, basically those placed anteriorly. While you experienced a very strong pain in these muscles, the first thing to rule out in this cases is a muscular strain (tearing of the muscular fibers), which is very painful.

It has different grades, all of which have different prognosis (natural history).

You need your GP at least have a look at your muscle, to see if there is pain, tenderness on moving the muscle, swelling or a decrease in muscle strength.

If your GP is in doubt, he/she can ask some exams like US, MRI to better evaluate.

You are a runner, so I do not need to advice you how to prepare before a running.

Regarding the treatment, I would recommend just a simple Acetaminophen and if still in pain to switch to a NSAID like Ibuprofen, but nothing more than that.

You need to put your muscle at rest for some days. Mild strains recover fully in a few days. A higher grade strain might need to be seen by a orthopedist

I can not assure you that will not happen again, but first you should recover fully from this eventual strain.

Hope this help with your question, please feel free for further questions.

Best regards

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T