Does a subgroup of postpolio patients need different management?

Throughout the 30 years of postpolio syndrome (PPS) research, there have been many puzzling anomalies in the data and not enough information to make sense of them. It is therefore welcome that Winberg et al have examined physical activity in relation to life satisfaction, sex and age. They hypothesized that activity would decrease with age and found the opposite. This result is not so surprising as Ostlund et al found that vitality was associated with older age and that younger age was associated with more pain, increasing physical fatigue, decreasing sleep quality and reducing activity. This commentary will examine past postpolio research with unexpected results in order to describe a subgroup of patients who may be more susceptible to overusing muscles and have particular exercise and activity needs.