What is Post-Polio Syndrome?

“Post-Polio syndrome (PPS) is a disorder of the neuromuscular system that affects many people who had poliomyelitis many years earlier. However, most people who had polio do not develop PPS. PPS usually develops 15 or more years after an acute polio virus infection that resulted in some degree of temporary or permanent paralysis...

During the initial attack of polio, some of the nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles (called motor neurons) are damaged or destroyed. Without impulses from these nerve cells, a muscle cannot function. Fortunately, some motor neurons usually survive the polio attack and send out new nerve connections to the orphaned muscle cells in an attempt to take over the function of the nerve cells that were destroyed. This process enables an individual to regain at least some use of affected muscles. However, after many years, the overburdened nerve cells may begin to fail.”