I wonder if anyone can give me some pointers as to how to walk ,what I would call “properly”?Because at the moment I seem to do heel toe with my left foot ,proper walking, and my right ,stroke affected ,foot seems to "flop"down!I,m not sure if that explains it well enough .My physio says to keep on with the strengthening excercises and it will come right! But I know I am impatient but it,s now coming up to one year since I had the stroke surely I should be walking more normally now!
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Everything takes time and practice practice. Don’t be hard on yourself a year isn’t a long time really in the grand scheme of things and yet eventually the brain will figure out what you’re trying to do
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Your physio is probably right. Just keep up with the strengthening exercises & keep practicing. Stroke recovery does take a long time & lots of patience is required. A year sounds a lot but isn’t really.
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Hi, @Gorrie .
This does sound remarkably similar to what happened to me; and I did develop a few tricks that seemed to help my recovery (and my physio does endorse these as good to use).
I’m tied up for a few days, and having to tap awkwardly on an iPad, so I won’t attempt to write much now, but I will try to get something written to send in a few days.
But my message is : yes, there may well be things you can do that are more targeted than ‘strength’ alone.
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It’s probably foot drop and many have it after a stroke. I’m 4yrs post stroke and although mine is relatively good now, it’s still a work in progress. It only tends to drop now first thing in morning and again in late evening, slightly. And it’s at it’s best when wearing shoes. But for the first year or so it was virtually a trip hazard so had to walk very carefully.
Lots of leg and hip strengthening exercises is about the only thing for it. Has your physio suggested a leg/foot brace to help correct this at all?
Lorraine
Ooh, now I’d be interested in that too. I’m always on the lookout for methods to further improve mine 
Lorraine
Hi Sue1958, thankyou for the encouraging message .Yes ,I,m sure you,re right .I will keep at it and try to have more faith in myself.Thanks again!
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Hi Mrs5K, Thankyou ! Yes I will keep going with the excercises. It,s nice to know the physio knows what he,s talking about!
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Hi Robbiej, Thankyou, it,ll be interesting to hear from you in a few days when you,re not so “tied up”!
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Hi EmeraldEyes, Thankyou for the encouraging post! No my physio has not mentioned footbrace .That could be because I can lift the front part of my foot independently ,I,m not sure but I will mention it to him at my next appointment! Thanks!
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You are welcome I think we can all expect too much of ourselves at times, I know I did
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I find walking with proper old fashioned lace up shoes with strong support works. Trainers and slip on leave me with slap foot. After referral to the hospital podiatrist I now have insoles especially designed to help with my fallen arches.
Having said the above I am just happy to get about again but always take a walking pole to aid stability. Keep up your efforts it will be worth the effort. Bob D
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Bob3,This is what my husband keeps saying to me! At the moment I prefer walking in "sketcher"type shoes .So I,m probably not doing myself any favours with these! As well as strengthening excercises I should get a pair of good lace up shoes! Thankyou!
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Yes, I could lift my foot independently too, maybe that’s why my physio never suggested one for me either. But there are a few others on here who do have them, @Apple and @nerrad67 are just two others that spring to mind.
I’m fine in zip up ankle boots and wear lace up Sketchers for the gym. At home I tend to wear ballet slippers with elestic across across the front. That’s because walking around the house give the foot a good workout, where I can concentrate more on picking the foot up more.
Lorraine
Lorraine
Hi Lorraine I goto see about my splint next Wednesday.
My dad’s just ended up in hospital so I’m on my own for now and coping
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I’m dismayed to find I can’t reply using my computer at home with its full functioning keyboard. The computer is old, and I can’t upgrade the OS.
We were/ I was supposed to have until July to invest in a new one, but it seems the date has been brought forward without any notice.
I can’t face typing much on a tiny phone keyboard so we may have to wait a bit longer.
But in the meantime it looks as if you’re getting a lot of moral support and practical advice from others here.
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Yes you,re right Robbiej! And I,m prepare to wait till you “upgrade”!
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Thanks @Gorrie !
Looks like it’ll be a good few days yet before I can get a shopping trip in, so in the meantime let’s see how far we can get.
First question, though: do you find that, with your heel still on the ground (sitting or standing) you can lift your foot at the front?
Either just the toes or the whole front foot? Can you waggle your toes - even just a little?
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Hello Robbie - I also use a laptop for almost everything.
On reading your comment about the phone keyboard, I looked up the possibility of connecting an external keyboard to a phone - I use an external keyboard for my laptop as I don’t like the laptop keyboard even though it is not that small.
Anyway, you may already know this, but in case you don’t and would like to, below is a link to someone showing how a phone can be connected to an external keyboard and mouse!
Something I might do myself 
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Hi Robbiej,Yes I can lift my foot at the front and can "wiggle"my toes on the stroke foot.I do it ,although I have to concentrate and it,s much slower than my unaffected foot!
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