Poliomyelitis (better known as polio) is a brutal musculoskeletal and spinal disease usually contracted in childhood. Thanks to a vaccine developed through the 1950s and ’60s, it is no longer a scourge of the Western World. However, study of its treatments may benefit care for similar illnesses. A 2019 case study in the International Medical Case Reports journal followed one post-poliomyelitis chiropractic case for such a purpose. While polio has been all but eradicated worldwide (by 99 percent since 1988), chiropractic successes may provide insight into treating similar conditions of musculoskeletal impairment.
Polio’s Musculoskeletal Impacts
Paralytic poliomyelitis (polio) is a virus which affects musculoskeletal strength throughout the body and can impact the spinal column. It tends to infect children and is highly contagious. At its worst, polio causes paralysis or death (when the lung muscles weaken to the point of failure). For others, it causes highly weakened muscles, particularly in the legs, back, shoulders, and arms, and can remain or reappear throughout someone’s life. Only prevention, through vaccine, has been able to stop this horrible disease, as there are no known cures. Polio is, happily, now only a reference in history books for the Western World, as a widespread vaccination initiative in the ’80s practically eradicated it from those countries. However, looking at successful treatments can influence the management of current or future viruses that…
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: The Joint Chiropractic — https://www.thejoint.com/north-carolina/concord/concord-12039/320094-chiropractic-polio-treatment-may-have-wider-uses
C.B. James Writing 