Multidisciplinary and home-based management in neonatal unilateral foot drop: a case report.
Ilaria Sanzarello, Lorenza Siracusano, Angelo Alito and 3 others
PMID 40463687WHAT IT FOUND
A newborn with isolated foot drop from nerve compression recovered fully in five months.
Parents performed daily home-based passive movement and tactile stimulation, guided by clinicians. No orthosis, medication, or electrotherapy was used. This single case cannot prove the treatment worked.
Key findings
01The infant received only home-based physiotherapy performed by parents after discharge, with no medication, orthosis, or electrotherapy prescribed.
02The patient was considered fully recovered over a 5-month period, with normal electrophysiological studies at 4 months.
03Parents were instructed to perform daily passive mobilization and tactile stimulation without a defined treatment protocol for time or frequency.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a single case report, so it cannot establish causality or generalizability. There was no defined treatment protocol for the home-based exercises in terms of time or frequency. The natural history of neonatal EPSN neuropathy often includes spontaneous recovery, so the specific contribution of the home-based exercises cannot be separated from natural resolution. Follow-up was limited to 2 years, and long-term outcomes beyond this point are unknown.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the Ministry of Health, Italy, Current Research Funds 2025. The authors declare financial support was received for the research and/or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that home-based physiotherapy caused the recovery. Neonatal EPSN neuropathy often resolves spontaneously, and this single case report cannot distinguish the effect of the exercises from natural healing.