POST-POLIO SYNDROME:

• PPS is a condition that affects polio survivors years after recovery from an initial acute attack of the poliomyelitis virus.
• PPS is mainly characterized by new weakening in muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection and in muscles that seemingly were unaffected.
• Symptoms include slowly progressive muscle weakness, unaccustomed fatigue (both generalized and muscular), and, at times, muscle atrophy.
• Pain from joint degeneration and increasing skeletal deformities such as scoliosis are common.

POSTURAL HYPOTENSION:

• Orthostatic hypotension is a sudden fall in blood pressure that occurs when a person assumes a standing position.
• It may be caused by hypovolemia (a decreased amount of blood in the body), resulting from the excessive use of diuretics, vasodilators, or other types of drugs, dehydration, or prolonged bed rest.
• Symptoms, which generally occur after sudden standing, include dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision, and syncope (temporary loss of consciousness).

SPASTICITY:

• Is a condition in which certain muscles are continuously contracted. This contraction causes stiffness or tightness of the muscles and may interfere with movement, speech, and manner of walking.
• Symptoms may include hypertonicity (increased muscle tone), clonus (a series of rapid muscle contractions), exaggerated deep tendon reflexes, muscle spasms, scissoring (involuntary crossing of the legs), and fixed joints.
• Spasticity is usually caused by damage to the portion of the brain or spinal cord that controls voluntary movement.
• It may occur in association with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, damage to the brain because of lack of oxygen, brain trauma, severe head injury, and metabolic diseases such as adrenoleukodystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , and phenylketonuria.

SPINAL CORD INJURY:

• Usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae.
• The damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced bone fragments, disc material, or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord tissue.
• An injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons. Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in complete paralysis.

SPINAL CORD TUMORS:

• Brain and spinal cord tumors are abnormal growths of tissue found inside the skull or the bony spinal column, which are the primary components of the central nervous system (CNS).
• Benign tumors are noncancerous, and malignant tumors are cancerous.
• Tumors that originate in the brain or spinal cord are called primary tumors.
• Symptoms of brain tumors include headaches, seizures, nausea and vomiting, vision or hearing problems, behavioral and cognitive problems, motor problems, and balance problems.

SPINOCEREBELLAR ATROPHY:

• Is one of a group of genetic disorders characterized by slowly progressive in-coordination of gait and often associated with poor coordination of hands, speech, and eye movements.
• Frequently, atrophy of the cerebellum occurs.

SPINOCEREBELLAR DEGENERATION:

• Ataxia often occurs when parts of the nervous system that control movement are damaged.
• People with ataxia experience a failure of muscle control in their arms and legs, resulting in a lack of balance and coordination or a disturbance of gait.

STROKE:

• Is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain.
• This can be due to ischemia (lack of blood supply) caused by thrombosis or embolism, or due to a hemorrhage.

SYNCOPE:

• Is the temporary loss of consciousness due to a sudden decline in blood flow to the brain.
• It may be caused by an irregular cardiac rate or rhythm or by changes of blood volume or distribution.
• Syncope can occur in otherwise healthy people.
• The patient feels faint, dizzy, or lightheaded (presyncope), or loses consciousness (syncope).

SYRINGOMYELIA:

• Is a disorder in which a cyst forms within the spinal cord.
• This cyst, called a syrinx, expands and elongates over time, destroying a portion of the spinal cord from its center and expanding outward.
• When a syrinx widens enough to affect nerve fibers that carry information from the brain to the extremities, this damage results in pain, weakness, and stiffness in the back, shoulders, arms, or legs.
• Other symptoms may include headaches and a loss of the ability to feel extremes of hot or cold, especially in the hands.

CATHERINE SHALINI RAJA
M.P.T.,MIAP.,PGDYN
CARDIO RESPIRATORY PHYSCIAL THERAPIST
FITNESS & SPORTS REHABILITATION SPECIALIST.