Foot drop, also called drop foot, is a term used to describe difficulty lifting the front part of the foot. People with foot drop have difficulty clearing the floor with their forefoot during the swing through a phase of walking.
To compensate, they might lift their thigh higher (called steppage gait) or swing their leg around (called circumduction) to help their drop foot clear the floor. Sometimes you’ll notice their weak foot slapping the floor when they walk.
Dr. Bob Baravaria DPM, FACFAS is a Board-Certified Podiatric Foot and Ankle Specialist. He is an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and serves as Director of University Foot and Ankle Institute.
Dr. Baravarian has been involved in athletics his entire life and played competitive tennis in high school and college. He has an interest in sports medicine, arthritis therapy, and trauma/reconstructive surgery of the foot and ankle. He is also fluent in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Farsi, and Hebrew),