Hi @Winnie and welcome to the community.
As @Sunshine55 already said, do contact your GP and ask him to refer you to physiotherapy as you can ask that if you need further physio to help you get walking safely again.
Not knowing your age and current ability, as to what you can and can’t do, I can’t really make any suggestions to you specifically. Plus I’m not a physiotherapist and only an expert in my own recovery
But I am more than happy to help you in anyway I can ![]()
The most common cause of foot drop is damage to the peroneal nerve, which runs down the leg and controls the muscles that lift the foot. So in our case it’s most likely the nerve damage/disruption to signalling from our stroke.
I haven’t managed to “cure” my foot drop, but it is much more controllable, in that with all the exercising I do and good management of my fatigue. And there is certainly no miracle cure to it…I know this because I’ve already looked ![]()
I know there is still a missing link in my leg, but I’ve made good steady improvements over the years that it barely makes the foot drop noticeable. And it’s controlled enough that it’s less likely to trip me unless I’m particularly fatigued, so I watch out for moments.
Dr. Elyse Newland her youtube channel is called Post Stroke. She is pretty good for exercises in stroke recovery. Most other channels, I find, have similar variations. So although I’ve only picked out the drop foot ones, there are many many more on her channel for both upper and lower body.
https://www.youtube.com/@PostStrokeOrg/search?query=foot%20drop
@Mrs5K already gave you the link to my foot drop recovery post, and below is another post with further recommendations.
You’re nearly 6mths post stroke and I dare say there is still plenty to come back onboard, including any nerve signals to your foot. To improve your walking and put a spring in your step again, you must first unlock the spring in your knees. And the best exercise I found for that were Sit to Stands.
Sit down in an upright chair, then stand up, and sit back down. Keep on doing that until until you’ve done at least 10 repetitions.
(Personally, I prefer to keep going until I feel the muscle burn in my good leg.)
Rest for 1 minute, then do 2 more rounds of 10 reps.
But it all depends on your physical level of ability, so adjust the reps to what you are currently able for, either less or more.
Also do some core stability exercises to stabilise and strengthen your hips/lower back because that’s where your walk motion comes from.
You start doing these now, once or twice a day, and I’m sure there will be a marked improvement 6 months from now. You’ll even notice the difference in a few weeks, that’s what spurred me on to do more and more
I’m 63 and 4yrs post stroke now, I walk pretty normally on the whole, can easily do 6 miles, I can even run across the road when I have to
I’m better in shoes, the foot doesn’t drop but in bare feet in the evening it does tend to drag a little. I do find the quicker I walk the less likely it is to drop too.
I hope you find some of this useful and ask away any time if you have any other questions, we are all more than happy to share ![]()
Regards, Lorraine