Annie Lennox - Annie Lennox Battling Foot Drop Syndrome

The former Eurythmics star, 56, has opened up about her struggle with foot drop, which leads to the numbing of nerves and muscles, on her Facebook.com blog. In the post, Lennox reveals she first suffered from the symptoms in 2008 and immediately sought professional help, fearing she would never be able to walk again unaided.

She writes, "Three years ago I found myself in the most extreme pain I've ever experienced. It turned out that I had a dropped foot, caused by my spinal column being impinged by a bulged disk.

"For the first time in my life, I was facing a real physical handicap, and had no idea whether I'd ever be able to walk normally again. It took months of physiotherapy to get movement back in my left foot, but gradually… painstakingly… my toes began to move again, to the point where I don't even have a perceivable limp.

"Now, the only drawback is that I have a permanently numb left foot, which feels as if it's stuck in a bucket of ice, with constant pins and needles. It's very strange, but somehow I've managed to adapt, and I find that I'm less aware of it than I was before."

Lennox admits the condition has prompted her to take better care of her feet, after realising how lucky she was to receive help from the doctors and nurses who helped her overcome the ailment.

She continues, "The reason I'm blogging about my feet is that I'm so grateful for the 53 years of great service they've given me. And if this hadn't happened, I would be coasting along, not realising what a gift it is to have something I'd taken for granted all my life. Thanks to my neurosurgeon, the nurses, and my physiotherapists, I can walk quite decently."