- Did you have polio?
- Are you a friend or relative of
someone who did?
Then there are some things you need to know....
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About Polio | PPS in under 2 minutes
| FAQ about PPS
|
Jacqueline Perry, MD
Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center
Downey, California
Acute poliomyelitis is a viral infection of
the anterior horn cells within the spinal cord causing varying
degrees of muscle paralysis while sensation remains intact.
Poliomyelitis destroyed some of the muscle fibers and thus the
remaining musculature has had too function at a higher demand
than normal. Patients improved their function through
substitution of other muscles or using passive tendon tension by
alternate posturing. Substitution was exquisitely effective. It
also introduced the potential for overuse of remaining muscles.
The current post-polio syndrome is
characterized by loss of strength, increased fatigue, and muscle
or joint pain. There is strong experimental evidence supporting
the loss of muscle fibers through damage from overuse, edema,
inflammatory cell and fiber degeneration. Muscle pain is a sign
of injury. The key point is that most patients with loss of
function are not suffering from inactivity. Exercise can make
only a small contribution. The primary therapeutic program is to
reduce the strain on these muscles by lifestyle modification or
assistive equipment. If strain can be relieved, there has been
mild improvement of strength and significant improvement of
function.
Frequently Asked Questions about Post-Polio Syndrome
by Dave Graham
#1 How do I know if I have post-polio
syndrome?
The diagnosis is one of exclusion. Other conditions that have
similar symptoms must be ruled out. These include Fibromyalgia,
M.S., Myasthenia Gravis, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), Parkinson's,
tumor, etc. Having post-polio syndrome does not rule out the
possibility of also having another disease though. A physiatrist
or neurologist familiar with PPS can perform appropriate
diagnostic tests.
#2 Am I going to die from PPS?
Everyone's going to die someday, but not from post-polio
syndrome.
#3 What About Social Security and
disability insurance companies?
Again, the support group is the place to go for this information.
Many people can offer their experiences and the library has some
great articles on the topic.
#4 What changes can I expect?
As you experience decreased strength, energy, and function, and a
higher level of pain, you can expect to have to make some
lifestyle changes. You may also confront some of the other common
PPS symptoms (twitching, "tired brain," etc.) However,
just as the severity of symptoms varies, so also the number and
magnitude of lifestyle changes differs from person to person. The
Polio Outreach library can give you more specifics. Dr. Mavis J. Matheson, MD,
says, "The way we see ourselves may interfere with our
ability to change. One approach to the whole issue of activity is
to be kind, positive, and gentle to ourselves."
P.P.S. in under two minutes.
by David Graham, revised by Elinor
Young
Have you tried to explain post-polio
syndrome to a friend, then half way through you notice them
nodding off? Try this two minute drill.
Our brain communicates with our muscles
through the nerves. Polio destroys these nerve cells causing our
muscles to die.
The beautiful thing about nerves is that they
help each other. When one goes down others help out, so a person
can lose many nerve cells and not experience much dysfunction.
Most polio survivors have been living in this
state of fewer cells for years. If they were very young when they
contracted polio they may have grown up thinking this was normal.
All people's nerve cells die off with age. For
the normal person, having many nerve cells, this is not a
problem. For those of us that have been living with a reduced
number of nerve cells, this can result in a variety of symptoms
including weakness, fatigue and pain.
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