Question: I scraped and cut my leg that is most affected by polio. It has not healed after two months. (I am not diabetic.) My family physician is sending me to a wound clinic. What can I expect at the wound clinic? Have you seen slow healing in polio survivors? Do you have any other advice? Answer: There are many …
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Is Further Corrective Surgery After a Grice-Green Procedure Ill-Advised?
Question: I had a Grice-Green procedure in 1955 to correct toe drop and weak foot muscles in my right foot secondary to polio. I have had outstanding results since then. Though I have a gait specific to my disability, I am a hiker and can walk with good hiking boots for as far as eight miles. This is becoming more …
Are Gabapentin or Pregabalin Effective for Post-Polio Neurological Damage that Leads to Leg and Hand Muscle Cramps?
Question: Are gabapentin or pregabalin effective medications for post-polio neurological damage, the type of damage that leads to leg and hand muscle cramps? Answer: Gabapentin and pregabalin are only approved for control of seizures and fibromyalgia (in the case of pregabalin). There are no studies supporting their effective-ness for leg cramps in post-polio survivors or others. Gabapentin is the most …
Advice for Sciatic Nerve Pain
Question: Do you have any advice about sciatica nerve pain? I have been in physical therapy three times a week for three weeks, with home exercises. It helps, but the pain is not gone yet, and my physical therapist gave me some bad news. My hyper-extended right leg has gone from -11 degrees to -13 degrees. I noticed I was …
Tips for Physical Therapy Precautions to Aid Post-Surgical Recovery
QUESTION: I am going to schedule a left-shoulder replacement soon and would like to know if recovery will be more difficult with atrophied left paraspinal muscles. I had polio at eight years of age and was paralyzed from my neck down. I made a remarkable recovery and am now 77 years old. I have never needed mobility aids, but I …
Bracing; Any Appropriately Adapted Rehabilitation Programs for Mobility-Impaired Post-Polio Heart Patients?
Question: I contracted polio when I was six months old in Taiwan. I was able to walk without any assistive devices until I was 46 years old, at which point I decided to use a cane. I am now 61 and feel the need to do more to improve my balance and prevent tripping or falling. How do I start …
Nerve Tests to Determine Polio Diagnoses
Question: I am 79 years old and was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome a few years ago. I was originally diagnosed with polio when I was nine years old. On a follow-up visit to Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, California, the doctor I saw (different from the one I had previously seen) told me he wasn’t certain that I had ever …
How Successful are Knee Replacements for Post-Polio Syndrome Patients and What is Recovery Like?
Question: I am an 83-year-old female polio survivor. The knee on my polio-afflicted right leg is bone-on-bone. My doctor is pressing me to get a knee replacement. How successful are knee replacements for post-polio syndrome patients and what is recovery like? Marny Eulberg, MD: I don’t have any statistics on success and recovery after knee replacements in polio survivors, and …
Recommendations for Healing a Fracture with PPS
Question: My mother has post-polio syndrome. She recently fell and fractured her spine. Do you have any recommendations on healing from a fracture with PPS? She’s experienced a lot of medical gaslighting regarding pain. I’m pushing for her to get a customized brace, but again, they aren’t looking into the option. Finally, I feel like physical therapy is pushing her …
What Happens Over Time with a Fused Back, Does the Fusion Eventually Wear Out?
Question: I contracted polio at 10 months of age in 1954. At the age of 13 in 1966, my scoliosis had progressed to where my “S”-shaped spine was fused from the base of my neck to the bottom of my spine. My back has been solid and pain-free (except for several brief times when some areas became sore and healed …