Post-Polio Syndrome

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KEY POINTS

• Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition you can get many years after you recover from polio, a disease caused by a virus.
• PPS cannot be cured, but treatment can help lessen or prevent some symptoms. Physical therapy may help strengthen muscles, and speech therapy may help with chewing, swallowing, and speaking.
• A healthy lifestyle may help. Talk to your healthcare provider about your personal and family medical history and your lifestyle habits. This will help you know what you can do to lower your risk for complications of post-polio syndrome.

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What is post-polio syndrome?

Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition you can get many years after you recover from polio.

Polio is a disease caused by a virus. The disease was very common in the 1900s up through the 1950s. Since then polio vaccination has almost eliminated polio worldwide. The last outbreak of polio in the US was in 1954.

What is the cause?

The exact cause of PPS is not known. When you had polio, the polio virus damaged or destroyed nerve cells that control muscle movement. Nerve cells that were not damaged might have grown extra branches to help muscles work again. These extra nerve branches may have weakened over time so that some of your muscles no longer work properly.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms may include:

• Tiredness, increasing muscle weakness
• Trouble swallowing
• Joint pain
• Bone problems, such as scoliosis (curvature of the spine)

How is it diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and medical history and examine you. You may have tests or scans to check for other possible causes of your symptoms, such as a stroke.

How is it treated?

PPS cannot be cured, but treatment can help lessen or prevent some symptoms.

Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy

• Physical therapy helps you use and strengthen your muscles. These types of therapy can make it easier for you to take care of yourself. You may learn how to use devices such as walkers or wheelchairs to help you get places or stay in certain positions. Braces can also help by supporting joints when your muscles are not very strong. You may learn to use tools to help with daily activities, such as jar openers, buttonhooks, or household items with large handles.
• Occupational therapy looks at how you will do basic tasks and helps you learn new ways to do things. Physical and occupational therapists often work together to help you. After serious injury or illness, many people have both types of therapy.
• Speech therapy helps improve speaking, eating, chewing, and swallowing.

Your provider may recommend a TENS unit, which relieves pain by sending small electrical impulses to your nerves through patches put on the skin. The electrical impulses reduce some of the nerve signals that cause pain.

Counseling

Counseling can help you cope with stress, frustration, depression, and other emotions.

PPS worsens very slowly. There may be long periods of time when it does not get worse. PPS usually is not life threatening unless it causes severe breathing problems.

How can I take care of myself?

• Don’t let yourself get too tired. Have regular rest periods or daytime naps. Early afternoon can be a good time to take a nap.
• Take pain medicine as directed by your healthcare provider.
• Put an ice pack, gel pack, or package of frozen vegetables wrapped in a cloth on the area every 3 to 4 hours, for up to 20 minutes at a time to help relieve pain.
• Use heat to help relieve pain, relax your muscles, and make it easier to move. Put moist heat on the sore area for up to 30 minutes to relieve pain. Heat includes heat patches or moist heating pads that you can buy at most drugstores, a warm wet washcloth, or a hot shower. To prevent burns to your skin, follow directions on the package and do not lie on any type of hot pad. Don’t use heat if you have swelling or numbness.
• A healthy lifestyle may help. Talk to your healthcare provider about your personal and family medical history and your lifestyle habits. This will help you know what you can do to lower your risk for complications of post-polio syndrome. For example:
  • Eat a healthy diet. Ask your provider about the benefits of talking to a dietitian to learn what you need in a healthy diet.
  • Drink enough liquids to keep your urine light yellow in color.
  • Try to keep a healthy weight. If you are overweight, try to lose weight to decrease the stress on your body.
  • Exercise according to your healthcare provider's instructions
  • Learn ways to manage stress. Ask for help at home and work when the load is too great to handle. Find ways to relax. For example, take up a hobby, listen to music, watch movies, or take walks. Try deep breathing exercises when you feel stressed.
  • If you smoke, try to quit. Talk to your healthcare provider about ways to quit smoking.
  • If you want to drink alcohol, ask your healthcare provider how much is safe for you to drink.
  • Try to get at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

Ask your healthcare provider:

• How and when you will get your test results
• If there are activities you should avoid and when you can return to your normal activities
• How to take care of yourself at home
• What symptoms or problems you should watch for and what to do if you have them

• Make sure you know when you should come back for a checkup.
• You can get more information from:
  • Post-Polio Health International
    314-534-0475
    http://www.post-polio.org
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
    800-352-9424
    http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/post_polio/detail_post_polio.htm