Footdrop is an inability to dorsiflex the foot. Patients with footdrop have a characteristic “steppage” gait. As the patient walks, the knee of the affected limb is elevated to an abnormal height during the swing phase to prevent the foot from dragging. At the end of the swing phase, the foot “slaps” the ground. Also, the unaffected limb often acquires a characteristic tiptoe pattern of gait during the stance phase. A typical cause of footdrop is damage to the common fibular nerve, which may occur with fractures of the fibular neck. Other causes include disc protrusion compressing the L5 nerve root, disorders of the sciatic nerve and the lumbosacral plexus, and pathologies of the spinal cord and brain.