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Case Report
Postpartum foot drop after vaginal delivery: A case of urgent spinal nerve decompression and literature review
1 Resident Physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
2 Medical Student, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL, USA
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
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Jennifer Law
1133 South Blvd, Oak Park, IL 60302,
USA
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Article ID: 100228Z08JL2026
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Law J, Zilber A, Cox-Pedota M. Postpartum foot drop after vaginal delivery: A case of urgent spinal nerve decompression and literature review. J Case Rep Images Obstet Gynecol 2026;12(1):32–37.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Postpartum neuropathies have long been recognized as potential complications of childbirth. Commonly affected nerves include femoral, sciatic, lumbosacral plexus, lateral femoral cutaneous, and peroneal nerves. Risk factors include prolonged second stage of labor, maternal short stature, fetal macrosomia, instrumental deliveries, hyperflexed positioning, and neuraxial anesthesia. Most reported cases are managed conservatively and ultimately resolve within weeks or months after delivery.
Case Report: We describe a case of new-onset foot drop following an uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery. To our knowledge, very few cases of postpartum foot drop secondary to lumbar disc herniation requiring surgical decompression have been reported.
Conclusion: Although most postpartum lower extremity neuropathies resolve with time and conservative therapy, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for structural causes when symptoms are severe or progressive. This case underscores the importance of prompt recognition and evaluation of new neurologic symptoms, even after apparently uncomplicated deliveries, to facilitate timely intervention and optimize recovery.
Keywords: Foot drop, Herniated disc, Obstetric palsy, Peroneal neuropathy, Postpartum, Vaginal delivery
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Acknowledgments
Perplexity artificial intelligence (AI) tool was used to check for spelling and grammatical errors.
Author ContributionsJennifer Law - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Alexandra Zilber - Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Meghan Cox-Pedota - Analysis of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2026 Jennifer Law et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
