MR Imaging of the Lower Leg versus Clinical Electrophysiologic Examination in the Differential Diagnosis of Neurogenic Foot Drop

摘要

Patients with foot drop are frequently seen in clinical practice. Foot drop may be due to a lesion of the common peroneal nerve, L5 radiculopathy, or a partial sciatic nerve lesion or lesions involving the lumbosacral plexus or cauda equina. Nerve conduction studies and electromyography (EMG) are of great help in localizing the site of the lesion. EMG can help detect evidence of denervation in foot drop of recent onset and can also help in establishing evidence of reinnervation in more chronic lesions.