Can polio affect walking?
Can polio affect walking?
As well as weight gain, the combination of fatigue, weakness and pain can also make walking difficult, leading to increasing mobility problems. Many people with post-polio syndrome will need a walking aid, such as crutches or a stick at some stage, and some people may eventually need to use a wheelchair.
What happens to your legs when you have polio?
In less than 1% of cases, polio causes permanent paralysis of the arms, legs or breathing muscles. Between 5% and 10% of people who develop paralytic polio will die. Physical symptoms may emerge 15 years or more after the first polio infection. These new symptoms are called the ‘late effects of polio’.
Can people with polio feel their legs?
A smaller proportion of people with poliovirus infection will develop other, more serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord: Paresthesia (feeling of pins and needles in the legs)
What challenges can polio survivors face?
Polio is caused by the poliomyelitis virus, which attacks the central nervous system, in some cases crippling hands and legs. Still, years after surviving the disease, patients may be affected by post-polio syndrome, a weakening of the muscles already affected by polio. Symptoms include fatigue and muscle atrophy.
How do you treat polio in legs?
Treatment
- Energy conservation. This involves pacing your physical activity and resting frequently to reduce fatigue.
- Physical therapy. Your doctor or therapist may prescribe exercises for you that strengthen your muscles without fatiguing them.
- Speech therapy.
- Sleep apnea treatment.
- Medications.
Can you get polio twice?
Does past infection with polio make a person immune? There are three types of polio virus. Lifelong immunity usually depends on which type of virus a person contracts. Second attacks are rare and result from infection with a polio virus of a different type than the first attack.
Can polio affected leg be cured?
There’s no one treatment for the various signs and symptoms of post-polio syndrome. The goal of treatment is to manage your symptoms and help make you as comfortable and independent as possible: Energy conservation. This involves pacing your physical activity and resting frequently to reduce fatigue.
Can a person get polio twice?
Lifelong immunity usually depends on which type of virus a person contracts. Second attacks are rare and result from infection with a polio virus of a different type than the first attack.
Does exercise help post-polio syndrome?
Rest and exercise Being active is thought to be beneficial for most people with post-polio syndrome, as it may slow down the progressive muscle weakness.
Is there any treatment for post-polio syndrome?
There’s currently no cure for post-polio syndrome, so treatment focuses on helping you manage your symptoms and improving your quality of life. People with the condition are often treated by a team of different healthcare professionals working together.
How can I improve my polio legs?
“Physical therapy. Your doctor or therapist may prescribe exercises for you that strengthen your muscles without you experiencing muscle fatigue. These usually include less strenuous activities, such as swimming or water aerobics, that you perform every other day at a relaxed pace.
Can you catch polio twice?