What Are The Causes And Complications Of Charcot Foot?

Incorrectly Treated Broken Foot Or Ankle

An individual can develop Charcot foot when they have an incorrectly treated broken foot or ankle. When an individual injures their foot or ankle and suspects a bone could be broken or fractured, they typically go to a provider for medical diagnosis. Bone breaks and fractures can be detected by diagnostic imaging tests such as a bone scan, CT scan, MRI, and x-rays. Depending on the severity and location of the break or fracture, the patient may require surgery to realign the bone. With or without surgery, the affected individual will be placed in a cast for immobilization for at least six weeks to allow the bone to grow back together. However, some patients who become injured in the foot or ankle mistake a break for a minor sprain or strain, or they are not aware of the injury at all. This situation can happen in individuals who have nerve problems that compromise the pain sensation in their foot. Instead of getting proper treatment for the break or fracture, the patient continues walking and standing on the foot and ankle. Bone fractures and breaks are common in individuals who have sensation loss in the foot and ankle because their neuropathy causes balance issues and immobility that stimulate changes in the balance of bone production and breakdown. This imbalance causes bone loss and weakness, increasing the risk of suffering a fracture.

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Infections

Infections can be the cause of an individual's peripheral neuropathy that results in the development of Charcot foot. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can spread to an individual's central nervous system when it is left untreated for several years. This infection results in an inflammatory response that causes the patient to develop numbness in some regions of the body. When this occurs in the individual's feet and ankle, Charcot foot can develop.

Another infection called poliomyelitis is caused by a virus that adversely affects the function of the central nervous system, resulting in peripheral paralyzation. When an individual is paralyzed in the ankle and foot due to polio, they can develop Charcot foot. HIV can also cause a patient to experience neuropathy in their extremities that can result in Charcot foot. Other infectious diseases that can cause Charcot foot include Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis C, rabies, herpes, brucellosis, leprosy, Lyme disease, hepatitis B, cytomegalovirus, and shingles. Patients affected by Charcot foot may also develop an unnoticed ulcer on the foot that can easily become infected as a complication of their disorder.

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