Hello, I have a herniated disc between L5-S1 that is causing dorsiflexion weakness and L5 radiculopathy (confirmed by MRI). After one week of sporadic nerve pain when in certain upright positions, I woke up with drop foot on Sept. 3rd. I immediately saw the doc, had an MRI, and began Prednisone treatment. I took two 1 week cycles and repeatedly saw the chiropractor and acupuncturist. The pain has gone away, but the drop foot remains, 17 days later. My toes in the same foot are strong, and the neurosurgeon even said my drop foot is not complete and that the foot has gained strength. STILL, she wants to operate, while all other practitioners in my life believe I should not operate. With the nerve pain gone, the maddening urgency is reduced, but the lingering drop foot has me worried. I ve always been an athlete and it pretty much ends that. My question is: am I risking never getting the foot dorsiflexion back by not operating immediately as the neurosurgeon wants, or is it perfectly normal to see the pain disappear, continue acupuncture and physical therapy, and see full function return? I don t want to have my disc removed unless I absolutely have to to save my foot function! Thank you to any of you who take the time to respond.