Muscle Strengthening
Original Post: I am 44 years old and my muscles are weak. I wonder if I can walk on the treadmill at low speed to strengthen my muscle.
Additional Post: That's the problem with PPS. You can exercise too much, but you can't just not do anything either. Some exercise is good, but if it takes more than 10 minutes to recuperate, next time do less.
Dr. Bruno’s Response: We’ve studied more than 6,000 polio survivors. One thing is loud and clear: NO muscle strengthening exercise. You want to maintain what you have. Do stretching and range of motion, but not muscle strengthening. If ANY activity hurts or causes significant fatigue, STOP!
Here is an article from a very experienced physical therapist from The Post-Polio Institute. This article is easily available to share with your physical therapist by downloading (see button below).
Look under the topic of “Physical Therapy” in the Index of the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS.