Why is it so hard to walk after your legs “fell asleep”?
In: 10
The many small muscles of the affected leg and the proprioception nerves are not providing positional feedback to the brain (cerebellum). These small inputs are required for the seemingly non-complicated process of walking.
When we were learning to walk, it was actually a complex series of actions, feed back, next action, more feedback, etc…, Until the ability to walk was mastered.
Removing this feedback interferes with the chain of events needed to walk smoothly. One’s foot may droop, instead of pulling the toes of the foot up causing a footfall (walking on the ball of your foot instead of rolling through the heal–to the ball–to the toes.
Unless drugs are involved, one will regain the proper proprioception in a minute or so. If drugs are involved, it can cause long-term nerve damage– See “Saturday Night Palsy.”
This pertains to the arm, but can also include the leg.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557520/#:~:text=Saturday%20night%20palsy%20refers%20to,of%20the%20brachial%20nerve%20plexus.
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