Medicare is a health insurance program for:

1) people age 65 or older, 2) people under age 65 with certain disabilities, and 3) people of all ages with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant).

Medicare has:Part A Hospital Insurance -Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) helps cover inpatient care in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Beneficiaries must meet certain conditions to get these benefits.

Part B Medical Insurance - Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) helps cover doctors' services and outpatient care. It covers services such as physical and occupational therapists, some home health care, medical equipment. Prescription Drug Coverage - helps pay for medications.

Medicare and Medical SuppliesMedicare covers the following - Manual Wheelchair, diabetes testing supplies such as test strips, glucose meter, lancets, insulin pumps, Nebulizers, CPAP machine, Oxygen concentrators, scooters, motorized wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches, hospital beds, lift chairs commodes, prosthetics, wound care etc. Call us for a free no obligation consultation.

BELOW ARE SOME DISEASES THAT CAUSE MOBILITY PROBLEMS

Diabetic Neuropathy: Diabetic neuropathy is a peripheral nerve disorder caused by diabetes. The symptoms of diabetic neuropathy are often slight at first. In fact, some mild cases may go unnoticed for a long time. Numbness, pain, or tingling in the feet, wrist or legs may, after several years, lead to weakness in the muscles of the feet. Occasionally, diabetic neuropathy can flare up suddenly and affect specific nerves so that an affected individual will develop double vision or drooping eyelids, or weakness and atrophy of the thigh muscles. Nerve damage caused by diabetes generally occurs over a period of years and may lead to problems with the digestive tract and sexual organs, which can cause indigestion, diarrhea or constipation, dizziness, bladder infections, and impotence. The loss of sensation in the feet may increase the possibility for foot injuries to go unnoticed and develop into ulcers or lesions that become infected.

Osteoarthritis: Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a "cushion" between the bones of the joints. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative arthritis. Among the over 100 different types of arthritis conditions, osteoarthritis is the most common, affecting over 20 million people in the United States. Osteoarthritis occurs more frequently as we age. Before age 45, osteoarthritis occurs more frequently in males. After age 55 years, it occurs more frequently in females.

Osteoarthritis commonly affects the hands, feet, spine, and large weight-bearing joints, such as the hips and knees.

Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is condition that features loss of the normal density of bone and fragile bone. Osteoporosis leads to literally abnormally porous bone that is more compressible like a sponge, than dense like a brick. This disorder of the skeleton weakens the bone leading to an increase in the risk of breaking bones (bone fracture). Normal bone is composed of protein, collagen, and calcium. Bones that are affected by osteoporosis can fracture with only a minor fall or injury that normally would not cause a bone fracture. The fracture can be either in the form of cracking (as in a hip fracture ), or collapsing (as in a compression fracture of the vertebrae of the spine). The spine, hips, and wrists are common areas of osteoporosis-related bone fractures, although osteoporosis-related fractures can also occur in almost any skeletal bone area.

Parkinson Disease: Parkinson's disease (PD) belongs to a group of conditions called motor system disorders, which are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. The four primary symptoms of PD are tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face; rigidity, or stiffness of the limbs and trunk; bradykinesia, or slowness of movement; and postural instability, or impaired balance and coordination. As these symptoms become more pronounced, patients may have difficulty walking, talking, or completing other simple tasks. PD usually affects people over the age of 50.

Hemiplegia/hemiparesis: Hemiplegia is the total paralysis of the arm, leg and trunk on the same side of the body whereas; Hemi paresis is the weakness on side of the body. The most common cause is stroke. The paralysis presents as weakness which may be present with abnormal tone. This may make walking unsafe, energy inefficient and or painful. Stroke: A stroke or "brain attack" occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain. When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs. When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost. These abilities include speech, movement and memory. How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged. For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg. People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak. Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability.

Multiple Sclerosis: MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin , which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses. In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken. Myelin not only protects nerve fibers, but makes their job possible. When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms Symptoms of MS include pain, numbness, cognitive functions, gait, hearing loss, seizures, tremor fatique etc.

Other common causes of mobility problems include but are not limited to Coronary artery disease ~ Spinal Stenosis ~ Rotator Cuff tear
Peripheral Vascular Disease ~ Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ~ Tendonitis
Cerebral Palsy ~ Amputations ~ Congestive Heart Failure
Loss of upper extremity function ~ Renal Failure ~ Rheumatoid Arthritis
Disclaimer: Lenox Medical is neither a clinic nor a hospital please consult with your physician.