Peroneal nerve dysfunction?
I have a client who was recently diagnosed with peroneal nerve dysfunction. It is not severe enough that she has foot drop, but she does have numbness to the outside of her knee and difficulty getting up from the floor. Her doctor did not recommend physical therapy or give her any exercise suggestions for treatment. She did suggest not to hyper extend or flex the knee as well as not bending the knee beyond 90degrees.
Has anyone had a client who has had peroneal nerve dysfunction? What exercises did you do or not do to help the client with this condition?
What is the cause of the peroneal nerve dysfunction?
Too, before anyone can determine which exercises are appropriate for the client, it is important to determine what exercises tests are you going to use as a baseline in order to choose appropriate exercises.
One of my clients who is 88-years old has peroneal nerve dysfunction as a consequence of Parkinsons. I wish I could give you an answer but it is a little difficult as a consequence of not having objective data.
Jocelyn, Without additional history, it sounds like an irritated peroneal nerve. That could have arisen out of anything along the nerve, from its root to the top of the toes. Most of the time it is caused by faulty movement, potentially even unnoticeable small abhorrent movement, or non-movement. Strengthening muscles around an irritated nerve is pretty much futile. Please know that current pain research states that the site of pain is typically not the site where the problem is. There are techniques to approach the nerve and get it to calm down – actively. An active approach is far superior to a passive approach in this sort of case. I am a Z-Health Practitioner, but in Chicago. I believe there is a certified Z-Health trainer in Japan. There is a directory on the Z-Health website: zhealth.net. I would highly recommend contacting that person. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me through the email address on my profile.
Try stretching the peroneal nerve area by lying on your back, and then leg in the air, sickle the foot – now take the sickled foot across the mid-line of the body to increase the stretch (add a strap of some sort over the foot if flexability is an issue). Don’t over do this. I have nerve damage to that area from a low back injury so I do these stretches daily. Simple ankle rotations along with the above stretch is also helpful. Bringing bloodflow to an area to heal and nourish is really important – these moves will accomplish that.