Sounds like you’re making great improvements with your foot drop. I shall look up those insoles & see if they might help my foot drop. I am having some nerve conduction tests done soon as they are seeing if it is something else causing my walking issues.
I changed my car to an automatic so i don’t have any issues with the peddles 
Fingers crossed your foot drop has left the building for good.
I found the insoles reduced the foot roll enormously. And its a bit of a novelty find myself walking more normally now, though
I’m still having a tendency to slap the front half of my foot down as I walk. I guess it’ll just take a bit of getting used to after so long😄
I’ve certainly noticed the difference in strength & balance class today😁
Onwards and upwards😄
@Annie1 Here’s a few drop foot exercises I do which I’ve really found helped with mine. I’m posting it here as another marker of my progression with foot drop. And I’ve just realised I started the post a year ago, Jan 2024 
An alternative to using the wall would be to go down on one knee with your good leg, just only about half way while keeping the stroke heel firmly on the ground as you push the knee forward.
The important thing in all these variations is to keep that heel firmly on the ground at all times. The minute you feel the heel wanting to lift, pull back a little.
And in all of them, you hold the position for as long as you can then release for few moments then go again. And do at least 5 repetitions each time, twice a day or more according to current ability.
When I first started to doing these some time ago; after a few weeks I felt an almighty click in my foot. Which in turn seemed to release/free up something in my foot that meant my big toe stopped wanting to stick up and the smaller toes don’t want to curl under.
I was doing these exercises along with wearing toe socks and the sloped insoles in my all my shoes (only for the stroke foot) and these are mentioned in the above post.
Hope this might help you too Annie 
Bear in mind, I am now 4yrs post stroke and progression has taken that long in steady increments. The latest being some months ago when I tested my running ability, which works, I can run. 
But, I still have a tendency to foot drop when fatigued, on a daily basis, but a rest soon puts that right.
Lorraine
Thank you so much, this looks a good one to do, I find trying to passively pull my foot forward, dorsiflexion quite difficult as ankle appears to be solid.
I’m no expert, I only know what is good and has worked for me. We are all as individual in our abilities as we are in our stroke. So try out and cherrypick to tailor to our own specific needs. Gradually you will be able to fine tune your physical training needs far better than any physio 
In all exercise, if it burns, thats good; if it causes pain, that’s not good; if it causes extreme pain, that’s bad, don’t do it agan.
So if you feel a slight stretch or burn, hold that position to a count of 5-10 if you can bear the burn
This foot drop is a slippery one to fix. Just when you think you’ve got it nailed you find its still not quite right. Its things like when I’m putting my foot into a shoe that I know it’s still not right; the whole action slows down/weakens and I have to kick the toe against the stair get to get fully on. So I can’t push the foot forward into the shoe but I can kick it forward 
At this stage in my recovery, it fascinates more than it frustrates. That’s why I say my stroke is my hobby 
Lorraine
I realised just 2 days ago that I do this! I suddenly became acutely aware of how my unaffected foot strikes the ground when I’m walking and that the stroke foot behaves differently. So I’ve been practicing walking slowly, concentrating on a heel strike with each step with the stroke foot. A while back I read something @pando had written that mentioned ‘ heel strike’ and I couldn’t get those 2 words out of my head so I guess something was triggered in my brain. Thank you, @pando
Trace
Yes. Trace
Heel strike was drummed into me by physio. I’m sure I used to do a mid-foot strike before stroke, but who knows… we take no notice of how to walk until we suddenly can’t do it !! ciao, R
Incidentally, this thread is still alive and relevant almost a year since the first post.
keep on keepin’ on
Excellent news Lorraine my left foot drop and weak ankle has not improved since the stroke 4 years ago but I do get the leg twitches after applying a pulse roller to my foot
I’m 4yrs and 5 months into my stroke recovery.
It’s been 1yr 5mths since I first created this post and I think it’s safe to say that I now have a reasonably functional foot that can safely and comfortably get me from A to B, even run, without tripping me up or breaking my ankle. Ok, those risks are always there even with two perfectly functioning feet 
It not perfect, but it is fully functional now.
The smaller toes no longer curl under. The foot no longer rolls over.
The big toe no longer curls up.
In fact all my toes can lay comfortably in their neutral position flat on the floor.
The foot drop, still makes its presence felt when fatigued or tired towards the end of the day. For example after a 2hr workout at the gym or a 3hr walk it will start to slap down or the ball of the foot might catch on the ground as it doesn’t quit clear the ground on pick up while walking. It usually recovers after a rest or a good nights sleep.
My stroke side is not perfect, but I’m at a comfortable stage in my physical recovery that none of it holds me back that much. My stroke side is definitely weaker than my left side, I certainly notice that difference in the gym.
I have full range of movement in my arm and a functioning hand that’s not as good with finer motor skills. But I’ve also got osteoarthritis setting in to both thumbs as well which doesn’t help, particularly with grasping 
My speech is still improving, enough to fool most people 
But it’s the fatigue that still holds me back from doing so much more. That still has to be planned for, managed 
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t me complaining, I’m quite happy with my lott. Yes, much always wants more, but I will see any further improvements as a bonus
In the meantime, I will continue with my fitness regime and continue monitoring what’s going inside my head
Lorraine
Just updating my post to help me keep track of my improvement.
I got an unusual path of cramp down the outside of my stroke leg this morning in bed.
Cramp itself is an extremely rare occurrence for me anyway. But it’s the path it took that has me fascinated. It started at the back of my knee at the outside ligament (Lateral collateral ligament I think) and travelled down and along the out edge of my foot. Then finished of up the outside of my thigh and petered out up in the hip.
I’ve had a constant little thin line of pain about half way up the outside of my thigh since I first had my stroke.
I’ve also have pain along in the sole of my foot along the outer side going into my small toes. This occurred when the toes unlocked a year or two ago. And it only tends to be in the morning until I start walking about.
The cramp was a tricky one to get rid of though as a result of the fine path it took, first down to my toes then up into the hip. Every time I tried to stretch the knee out it wanted to curl up more. The toes wanting to curl up on themselves, and the outer back thigh into hip were the trickiest of all as I couldn’t seem to get a good enough stretch on it at because of where it was.
And now I’m sitting here with pins and needles and tingling along that path. But mobility is fine, so watch this space as something is afoot 
Lorraine
Note: Wondering if the slopped insole is what has triggered this cramp. Took the sole out for a break for 6 months and put a new one back in a week or so ago.
If anyone can work it out, it’s you 
Look forward to the next update.
@khyber, just noticed you’ve been reading this post and wondered, have you tried walking in just shoes/trainers lately without the use of any ortho supports. I do find that that’s just enough for me now. And if I’m tired and my foot drops a touch, I can easily adjust my walking to mindful of that. It’s rare that anyone really notices these days. A couple months ago, my strength & balance instructor noticed my limp and was wondering why. I’ve been going so long now and recovered so much, he’d forgotten why I originally started 
Lorraine
Hi emerald eyes, i replied to your post via a reply on email, ive now noticed that i should have replied via this thread, ill paste the reply across to heresoon if i donnt here from you
This wzs my aborted email reply
Yes I was walking all unassisted for about 6 months averaging in excess of 15 k steps per day
I’m back in my afo now as my physio noticed I had knee hyperextension. Although the afo doesn’cover the knee it does reduce my knee problems. I can still walk without the afo but with a noticeable limp. I hook my toes onto a kettlebell and lift and hold with my foot to strengthen my foot drop and it seems to work for me at this stage in my recovery
Now there’s one I’ve never considered try. Yes, I do all sorts of leg/foot exercise, but I think I’ll try that one for a while at the gym, just see if/how it might target muscles differently. 
Lorraine
Hi emerald eyes, sorry for the confusion that i created by not replying via the thread butYes a kettlebell handle is just the right size to fit over the front of my rather large trainer clad foot but i do need to place my heel on a small yoga block to lift it by a couple of inches when i sit on the weights bench i have graduated to a 8/10kg weight now,a lot more than the 1/2kg i started with,i just lift it slowly using only my ankle flexion and hold still for a few secs. I fiind it tougher with my knee straight than knee bent. Usual disclaimer!youmay wish check with an expert that the exercise is correct for your particular situationbut it certainly developed my dorsi flexion strength and maybe my motor control too! I use normal 1kg ankleweights draped over my fore foot when doing the training at home
I’m going to give that a try today. I normally use the leg extension machine for that at the gym. Take the pin out of weight plates and using it single legged. But the kettle bell would stop me from hogging that machine when I get on it🤭
As I’ve in the past, my foot drop isn’t too bad any more, aside from when fatigue kicks in or I’m overly tired. I don’t think that will ever change. But i do like to keep it that way by with my physical fitness regime. Even as I sit here writing this reply, I’m lifting and lowering the front of my off the floor, stretching the sole and flexing the shine, it’s become a bit of a habit
Lorraine
Hi lorraine yes dogive it a go its a nice feeling when you demonstrate to yourself that uou can actuallycontrol the muscles ( tib ‘ant’)yo lift your toes ifyou can reach, feel the front of your shin to feel the muscle tighten maybe move your ankle in other ways with the weight on it, leg bent then straightenetc. And enjoy the strange looks from other gym users wondreing why your foot is stuck in a kettlebell. Khyber
I tried it yesterday with a 6kg kettle bell but couldn’t get my foot through with my trainer on. Think it would hurt the top of my foot without the trainer. But I think I’ll try it again today with a higher weight and see how far I get with that
Lorraine
