Neuropathic Arthropathy and Receiving Social Security Disability
To understand Neuropathic Arthropathy you first need to understand what it means. Arthropathy is a large, inclusive term that is used to refer to joint diseases. The reason for this is because arthropathy comes from two Greek words that mean, joint and feeling or disease. However, the term arthropathy does not indicate what the specific kind of joint disease is that you may be afflicted with. Arthropathy can be used in reference to osteoarthropathy, an infectious joint disease or some other kind of joint disease. There are several different types of arthropathy. Some of these include neurogenic, enteropathic, facet, crystal, reactive and diabetic arthropathy. Each one of these various forms of arthropathy is caused by different things and has to have different approaches to treat it. The prevalence and incidence of the various kinds of arthropathy are not known. The reason for this is because arthropathy usually takes place secondary to another underlying disease that you have. For this reason, it is not known how common the various forms of arthropathy are. Neuropathic arthropathy is a progressive musculoskeletal disease that is evidenced by deformities, joint dislocation and fractures. This results in progressive destruction of bone and soft tissue of your weight-bearing joints. This takes place most of the time in your foot and ankle. Neuropathic arthropathy is known by other names. It is also referred to as neuropathic joint disease, Charcot arthropathy, Charcots joints and diabetic neuropathic osteoarthropathy. Neuropathic arthropathy was first described by Jean-Martin Charcot in 1868. He was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology.Disorders that can cause Neuropathic Arthropathy
For many years, syphilis was thought to be the number one cause of neuropathic arthropathy. At this time, however, diabetes mellitus is now believed to be the primary thing that leads to this disease. In addition to diabetes mellitus, any disorder that causes sensory or autonomic neuropathy at one of your joints can also result in neuropathic arthritis. Some of these disorders include:- ? Chronic alcoholism
- ? Syringomyelia (a chronic disorder that affects your spinal cord)
- ? Kidney (renal) dialysis
- ? Meningomyelocele (a condition where there is hernial protrusion of your spinal cord and its meninges through a defect in your vertebral arch)
- ? A congenital (present at birth) insensitivity to pain
- ? Leprosy
- ? A spinal cord injury
- ? Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (a group of inherited conditions that affect your connective tissues)
- ? Raynauds disease (a disease in which some areas of your body feel cool and numb in response to stress or cold temperatures)
- ? Adrenal hypercorticism
- ? Pernicious anemia (anemia resulting from your body not being able to properly absorb vitamin B12 from your gastrointestinal tract)
- ? Amyloidosis (amyloid proteins build up in your organs).
Neuropathic Arthropathy Signs and Symptoms
The hallmark sign or symptom of neuropathic arthropathy is mild to severe swelling, in addition to moderate deformity. Other signs and symptoms that you may have with this disease are:- ? The redness of your skin (erythema)
- ? The escape of fluid (joint effusion)
- ? Inflammation
- ? Concomitant (naturally occurring or associated) ulceration
- ? The resorption of bone
- ? Pain
- ? The loss of joint function and instability
- ? An increase in the temperature of your skin
- ? Degenerative changes in your joint or joints that are affected.