Polio Place

A service of Post-Polio Health International

physical therapy

How to Exercise If You Are Living with Post Polio Syndrome

By Stephen Pate

If you have Post Polio Syndrome (PPS), it’s vital to exercise moderately every second day to keep the muscles we have and avoid obesity, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Exercise also helps us accomplish more of those activities of daily living and can improve how we feel.

Why Exercise?

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Sample Exercises

This set of sample exercises for polio survivors was prepared by Christy Osborn, PT, DPT of Bay Cliff Health Camp in Big Bay, Michigan.

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Polio Survivor with Numbness

Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 4, Fall 2011
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Question: Do you know of any polio survivors who are experiencing numbness in their affected areas? I did some physical therapy recently for about six weeks using both sides of my body to improve the strength in my unaffected leg, and noticed that my left arm (the affected side) was becoming numb and then later in the day, my left leg would also become numb (just the top part of my arm and leg).

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Rotator Cuff Surgery

Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 3, Summer 2011
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD

Question: I have a severe rotator cuff tear and an orthopedic surgeon has recommended a shoulder replacement because of the severity of the tear and the presence of significant arthritis. I had polio in my right leg and use my left leg to lift/stabilize myself on crutches.

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Pain and Using Wheelchair

Post-Polio Health, Volume 28, Number 1, Winter 2012
Ask Dr. Maynard
Frederick M. Maynard, MD“Ask Dr. Maynard,” Post-Polio Health, Volume 28, Number 1, Winter 2012

Question: I have been having a LOT of pain through my butt into my lower back. I looked up muscle groups and think I see what is causing the problem. I sit at my desk nine or so hours six days a week in order to survive financially.

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Close Encounters of the Post-Polio Kind

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed Psych, Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association.

It’s not as if we polio survivors never run into a glitch or two in a day. Let’s face it—dealing with the unexpected has become part of everyone’s routine. Developing the finesse to do that smoothly and successfully—well, that may be a different matter.

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"Taping" for Shoulder Pain

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 have a significant pain problem in my shoulder and I've heard about a special taping technique used by athletes. What's the deal? Could it help me?

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Still Here, After All These Years

Lawrence C. Becker

“You had polio? I thought they cured that."

If I had $10 for every time I’ve heard those words, I could sponsor a vaccination program in a village in some hard-to-reach part of the world. That would be a good thing. But polio is not “cured” by the vaccines—it is prevented. There’s a difference.

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Positioning for Comfort during Work, Leisure Activities and Rest

 
I. INTRODUCTION

Please understand that consistently using the principles discussed below is important when performing ANY activity. In other words, do not wait to use these principles just when you are in pain, but rather, use the principles all of the time.

Why should you use these principles?

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Reasonable Expectations from Physical Therapy

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT in a physical therapy evaluation, and how should the results be incorporated into treatment?

Comprehensiveness
In physical therapy school, students are taught all the components of the following type of evaluation. They are instructed to complete all of the components of the following evaluation on any body part that is affected by problems that the patient is being sent to physical therapy for.

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