Leslie Drawdy, PT, DPT, CLT-LANA, Tucson, Arizona Massage is known to have many general health benefits, including decreased stress and anxiety, increased blood flow, decreased blood pressure, decreased pain and stiffness. Certain techniques can also result in decreased edema and hypersensitivity. Many people with post-polio syndrome (PPS) suffer from pain, cold intolerance and hypersensitivity. Most research and books on PPS …
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Canes – Pick the Right Stick
A cane may be adequate if you need minimal support. First determine the correct length of the cane. If it is too long and your elbow stays bent when you lean on the cane, the triceps muscle at the back of the elbow has to stay contracted. This can lead to muscle fatigue and pain in your shoulder. To prevent …
How to Use Crutches on Stairs
Approach the stairs and have your therapist stand by for safety until confident of abilities. Keep crutches down on lower level and do not place upward on the steps. Push down hard on the crutches with your arms. This lifts the body upward. Then, step up first with your strong leg to the first step! Bring up your weak leg …
Of Crutches and Canes
Have you thought about using a cane or crutch but dismissed the idea because you’d be self-conscious? Think you’ll look “disabled”? Figure that you’ve gotten along okay without walking aids so far, so why start now? Good question.I know that feeling well and talked about it in “Facing Reality.” But ask yourself if you are really getting along okay. Do …
Walkers
If you’re at risk of falling or have some balancing problems you might want to consider using a walker. It is imperative that your walker is properly fitted with comfortable handgrips and that it is the correct height for you. To determine the correct height, stand inside the walker, let your arms rest at your sides and match the crease …
Roll Models: Scooters and Wheelchairs
Many of us who had polio used canes, wheelchairs and bracing on our path to recovery and gradually were able to relinquish them. Others of us have developed different chronic conditions that have managed just fine until now without mobility equipment. But as we get older our bodies change, our symptoms escalate and daily activities use so much more energy …
Weakness
New muscle weakness is the hallmark of post-polio syndrome and can significantly impact activities of daily living. Some amount of new muscle weakness is likely to occur in about half of post-polio individuals (Jubelt & Drucker, 1999). Muscle weakness is most likely to occur in muscles previously affected during the acute poliomyelitis followed by a partial or full recovery (Cashman …
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 …
Learning from Disability
Grace Young My life changed course when I had polio at age nine, but I was too young to realize it. When a person is disabled in adulthood their whole world is turned upside down pretty quickly. At the age of nine, I only knew that I couldn’t walk, play outside with my friends, or go to school for a …
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