BABY, IT IS COLD OUTSIDE! William G. Stothers Snow and bone-chilling cold are making this a brutal winter across North America. And Phil the groundhog says it will go on for another six weeks. Bad news for people stuck in this kind of weather, especially polio survivors. We know the snow-choked wheelchair wheels, snow-banked sidewalks and curb cuts, melting messes indoors, …
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Polio Doctors
There is no official certification for a “polio doctor.” The most common use of this informal designation is a physician with knowledge, experience and interest in evaluation and treatment of polio survivors. Given the most common new disabling medical problems of polio survivors, physicians with expertise in neuromuscular disease management that includes the ability to recognize and treat chronic musculoskeletal …
Post-Polio Clinics
WHO ESTABLISHES THE POST-POLIO CLINICS IN THE STATES AND HOW ARE THEY ORGANIZED? Joan L. Headley, MS, Executive Director To establish a post-polio clinic, a need has to be perceived for such a clinic. This need may be generated by the medical community, but more likely the catalyst will come from the demands of the post-polio population, in particular, the …
Guide for Children in Rural Areas
“Chapter 7: Polio” in Werner, David. Disabled Village Children: A Guide for Community Health Workers, Rehabilitation Workers, and Families. Hesperian Foundation. 2009. David Werner was a co-founder of the Hesperian Foundation. A biologist and educator by training, he has worked as a health activist for the past 40 years in village health care, community-based rehabilitation, and “Child-to-Child” health initiatives in the …
Definitions
Technically, post-polio syndrome is not the same condition as Post-Polio Sequelae/ the late effects of polio. Post-polio syndrome is usually considered a specific new condition. A diagnosis of exclusion is used to determine if a patient has PPS. This means if a survivor of polio is found to have osteoarthritis, for example, that is what the diagnosis will be – osteoarthritis, not PPS. Because …
Muscle Power Evaluation And Therapeutic Chart (MPET Chart)
AN EFFECTIVE TOOL IN POST-POLIO MANAGEMENT Mahboon ur Rahman, Peshawar, Pakistan Brief Description of Work: Muscle power of polio-afflicted children were assisted and evaluated by Oxford Muscle Testing Chart. The chart as a diagnostic tool gives strength of muscles for the purpose of surgical interventions or physical regime. But the chart could not be used successfully as it focused only on …
Pain
Pain can be due to any number of factors ranging from very benign to quite serious. Polio survivors who are experiencing pain should undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation to diagnose its cause. Pain is most often due to overuse of muscles, tendons, ligaments and/or joints, and primary interventions are directed at alleviating or eliminating the overuse factors. Pain syndromes associated …
Prescription for Pain
Sunny Roller, MA, Michigan New pain, muscle weakness and general fatigue are common complaints of post-polio individuals who fought polio once and won, but are now reluctantly having to return to rehabilitation after a 30-40 year reprieve. Along with muscle weakness and fatigue, new pain is the most common complaint of people with the late effects of polio. It is …
Wellness
Throughout life, people move in one direction or another on the wellness continuum ranging from maximum performance on one end to serious illness or premature death on the other end. Polio survivors do not need to constantly struggle from one health crisis to the next. While some health problems require professional assistance, others can be controlled by the individual. Once …
Scooter or Power Chair: A Stigma
From the series, Polio Survivors Ask, by Nancy Baldwin Carter, B.A, M.Ed.Psych, from Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. Q: I’m in the market for either a power chair or a scooter and am trying to make up my mind which would be better for me. I’ve heard there’s a …
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