A case of painful post-polio syndrome

The post-polio syndrome is a slowly progressive weakness with atrophy and fasciculations of skeletal and/or respiratory muscles affecting patients decades after there has been maximal recovery from acute paralytic poliomyelitis. The pathogenesis has not yet been established but many hypothetical explanations have been suggested. A case is presented of a patient who suffered from poliomyelitis of the lower limbs 30 years ago, but recently showed a post-polio syndrome affecting the proximal levels of both lower and upper limbs. The affected regions showed diffuse tactile allodynia, intense muscular tenderness with very strong hyperpatic reactions and signs of sensory and motory deficits.