Skip to main content

Charcot Foot: Conservative Management

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Functional Limb Salvage
  • 250 Accesses

Abstract

The main task of conservative therapy of Charcot neuroarthropathy is to arrest the inflammatory process of active neuroarthropathy by mechanical stabilization of the foot skeleton and thus to initiate the phase of bony consolidation. Plaster techniques and ankle-foot-orthoses are primarily available for this purpose. The latter are used as prefabricated aids in the case of non-deformed or only slightly deformed feet, or as individually fitted orthoses in the presence of a deformity. This type of conservative therapy can be an alternative to surgical treatment after an appropriate risk-benefit assessment, or it can provide additional protection following surgical reconstructive measures until the arthrodeses produced by external or internal fixation methods are firmly fused. And this period is twice as long in the presence of polyneuropathy as with standard procedures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Koller A, Springfeld R, Engels G, et al. German-Austrian consensus on operative treatment of Charcot neuroarthropathy: a perspective by the Charcot task force of the German Association for Foot Surgery [published correction appears in Diabet Foot Ankle. 2011;2. doi: 10.3402/dfa.v2i0.14920]. Diabet Foot Ankle. 2011;2. https://doi.org/10.3402/dfa.v2i0.10207.

  2. Petrova NL, Petrov PK, Edmonds ME, Shanahan CM. Inhibition of TNF-α reverses the pathological resorption pit profile of osteoclasts from patients with acute Charcot osteoarthropathy. J Diabetes Res. 2015;2015:917945. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/917945. Epub 2015 Jun 2. PMID: 26137498; PMCID: PMC4468294.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Game FL, Catlow R, Jones GR, et al. Audit of acute Charcot’s disease in the UK: the CDUK study. Diabetologia. 2012;55:32–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Böhler L. Technik der Knochenbruchbehandlung. Wien: Wilhelm Maudrich Publisher; 1929. (Technique of fracture treatment).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Kaynak G, Birsel O, Güven MF, Oğüt T. An overview of the Charcot foot pathophysiology. Diabetic Foot Ankle. 2013;4. https://doi.org/10.3402/dfa.v4i0.21117.

  6. Morgan JM, BiehlL WC, Wagner FW Jr. Management of neuropathic arthropathy with the Charcot restraint orthotic walker. Clin Orthop. 1993;296:58–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Saltzman CL, Hagy ML, Zimmerman B, et al. How effective is intensive nonoperative initial treatment of patients with diabetes and Charcot arthropathy of the feet? Clin Orthop. 2005;435:185–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Saltzman CL, Johnson KA, Goldstein RH, et al. The patellar tendon-bearing brace as treatment for neurotrophic arthropathy: a dynamic force monitoring study. Foot Ankle. 1992;13(1):14–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Jeffcoate WJ, Game F, Cavanagh PR. The role of proinflammatory cytokines in the cause of neuropathic osteoarthropathy (acute Charcot foot) in diabetes. Lancet. 2005;366(9502):2058–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67029-8. Epub 2005 Aug 10. PMID: 16338454.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Guyton GP. An analysis of iatrogenic complications from the TCC. Foot Ankle Int. 2005;26(11):903–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Piaggesi A, Macchiarini S, Rizzo L, Palumbo F, Tedeschi A, Nobili LA, Leporati E, Scire V, Teobaldi I, Del Prato S. An off-the-shelf instant contact casting device for the management of diabetic foot ulcers: a randomized prospective trial versus traditional fiberglass cast. Diabetes Care. 2007;30(3):586–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Dahmen R, et al. Therapeutic footwear for the neuropathic foot: an algorithm. Diabetes Care. 2001;24(4):705–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Wu T, Chen PY, Chen CH, Wang CL. Doppler spectrum analysis: a potentially useful diagnostic tool for planning the treatment of patients with Charcot arthropathy of the foot? J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2012;94(3):344–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Armstrong DG, Lavery LA. Monitoring healing of acute Charcot’s arthropathy with infrared dermal thermometry. J Rehabil Res Dev. 1997;34:317.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Schon LC, Easley ME, Weinfeld SB. Charcot neuroarthropathy of the foot and ankle. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1998;349:116–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rajapakse C, et al. Thermography in the assessment of peripheral joint inflammation—a re-evaluation. Rheumatol Rehabil. 1981;20(2):81–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Zampa V, et al. Role of dynamic MRI in the follow-up of acute Charcot foot in patients with diabetes mellitus. Skelet Radiol. 2011;40:991–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Berli MC, et al. The “Balgrist Score” for evaluation of Charcot foot. Skelet Radiol. 2021;50:311–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Eichenholtz SN. Charcot joints. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas; 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Sanders LJ, Frykberg RG. The Charcot foot (Pied de Charcot). In: Bowker JH, Pfeifer MA, editors. Levin and O’Neal’s the diabetic foot. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Mosby Elsevier; 2007. p. 257–83.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Sinacore DR. Acute Charcot arthropathy in patients with diabetes mellitus: healing times by foot location. J Diabetes Complicat. 1998;12(5):287–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1056-8727(98)00006-3. PMID: 9747646.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Armstrong DG, Lavery LA. Acute Charcot’s arthropathy of the foot and ankle. Phys Ther. 1998;78(1):74–80.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Jones KB, Maiers-Yelden KA, Marsh JL, Zimmerman MB, Estin M, Saltzman CL. Ankle fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2005;87(4):489–95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Marks RM. Complications of foot and ankle surgery in patients with diabetes. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2001;(391):153–61.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Koller A, Kersken J. Hilfsmittel beim Diabetischen Fußsyndrom. Orthopädie-Technik. 2013;7:1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Koller A, Meissner SA, Podella M, Fiedler R. Orthotic management of Charcot feet after external fixation surgery. Clin Podiatr Med Surg. 2007;24(3):583–99.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Armin Koller .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Koller, A. (2023). Charcot Foot: Conservative Management. In: Attinger, C.E., Steinberg, J.S. (eds) Functional Limb Salvage. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27725-2_18

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27725-2_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-27724-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-27725-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics