TENS is thought to block pain signals coming from the muscles and conveyed to the brain. The patient carries a portable device about the size of a pack of cigarettes that emits low levels of electrical current. TENS is frequently used today for back pain and post-surgical pain. The treatment of choice in those days was to apply moist heat packs to help alleviate the pain. An estimated 250,000 Americans who survived the polio epidemic of the '40s and '50s now have a residual weakness called post-polio syndrome.
Sufferers complain of joint pain, decreased endurance and muscle atrophy.
Walsh said the syndrome is associated with nerve loss from the initial polio. The polio victim has fewer nerves than they had before the virus, so with age they become weaker at a faster rate than others. Dr. Stanton, who has treated two women with the syndrome, prescribes exercise that minimizes joint stress and muscle fatigue. Mild aerobics and weight training have been shown to help, Dr. Walsh said. In most cases, Dr. Stanton said, pain associated with post-polio syndrome appears to result from victims overusing certain joints and muscles to compensate for the lost use of other joints or muscles.