Massage Therapy for Post Polio Sequelae

Since the early 1990's a mystery disease has been affecting baby boomers. Once thought to be a variation of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome along with Fibromyalgia, Post Polio Sequelae or the Post Polio Flu as it is most commonly termed, has been affecting the joints, muscles and tissues of Polio survivors.

My mother is a Polio survivor who missed the iron lung treatment. In the early 1990's she began to get very weak, to the point where being able to exercise or even walk a short distance was impossible. Doctor's diagnosed depression, citing midlife crisis, and when that didn't work tried diagnosing Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome along with Lupus and a whole host of other disorders. What we knew, was that she was genuinely ill.

It wasn't until the pain in her feet got so bad that she was given morphine shots that we began to get any assistance. Taking herself to physiotherapy as a last resort, the Physiotherapist gently tried to relieve leg muscles that were quickly atrophying from lack of use, this Physiotherapist believed we would be better using the services of a Massage therapist who could work the muscles and tissues and help the immune system recover.

Going to a massage therapist instead of a physiotherapist made all the difference. Massage, unlike physiotherapy concentrates on healing the whole body. When an area of the body is massaged or manipulated, the lymph nodes are better able to carry blood and oxygen to all the organs of the body. As oxygen is increased, the auto-immune system sends a message to the brain that the body is in fact recovering from a trauma, or in this case a real disease.

Post Polio Sequelae causes the muscles to seize up, and become useless. The body then goes into 'panic mode' which means that although pressure little blood and oxygen is getting to the affected muscles, now even less will get there as we begin to panic. As our breathing shallows, our stress levels go up and our muscles tighten even more.

After a detailed inventory, the massage therapist will typically seek to relax a patient by using standard Swedish therapy characterized by five deep hand strokes that fan out from the top of the rib cage down to the waist. Once this is done, blood flow throughout the central nervous system is restored and the patient is relaxed enough to have the more serious areas massaged.

Often it is the legs and feet that are most affected by Post Polio Sequelae. The feet often become curled, and it is difficult to walk on them. Here the feet are kneaded using a form of massage therapy called deep tissue massage. Often quite painful, this deep kneading, releases tension deep within the muscles and tissues, forcing them to relax, and blood to flow through. If a knot is encountered by the therapist, trigger point therapy is applied to help alleviate the knot and the pain. The process is then re-applied to the ankles, calves and thighs.

Often quite painful, using a combination of three different types of massage therapy can and does bring relief to those with Post Polio Sequelae. The massage allows the tissues to heal themselves, and promotes blood flow so they do not cramp up and become sore again.