Post-Polio Syndrome

Excerpts from the entry on Post-Polio Syndrome in Relieving Pain Naturally by Dr. Sylvia Goldfarb and Roberta W. Waddell. For full entries on all 37 conditions and 27 treatments, order the book.

Post-polio syndrome is a combination of fatigue, muscle weakness, and pain described as a burning sensation or a deep muscle ache. It occurs between twenty and thirty years after the initial polio attack and does not appear to favor either men or women. People who recovered from polio decades before find that the long-ago affected muscles begin to progressively weaken and atrophy. The new symptoms progress very slowly, are not as severe as the original symptoms, and do not lead to total paralysis. Of the approximate 300,000 polio survivors in the United States, half may have some of the PPS symptoms, while about 20 percent have them to a significant degree. Unlike other conditions, there is little interest in, or education about, PPS, for two reasons. First, doctors trained after the 1950s have an extremely limited knowledge of polio because the Salk and Sabin vaccines have been so effective in preventing the disease. The other reason is that most of those with PPS are over sixty-years-old and the condition will likely be nonexistent in a few years.

Also in this entry:

• Symptoms
• Common Causes
• Diagnosing the Problem
• Conventional Treatments
• Problems with Some Conventional Treatments
• Self-Help Alternative Treatments
• Assisted Alternative Treatments
• Practical Suggestions

See below for full list of all conditions and treatments in the book. Or, download a complete Condition entry or Treatment entry for free.