WHAT IS POST POLIO SYNDROME
Post Polio Syndrome is a poorly understood condition that can affect people who have had polio in the past.
Polio is a viral infection that used to be common in the UK, but is now rare.
Most people who had Polio would have fought off the infection without even realising they were infected.
Some people with Polio would have had paralysis, muscle weakness and shrinking of the muscles. But usually, these problems would have either gone away over the following weeks or months, or remained the same for years afterwards.
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Post Polio Syndrome is where some of these symptoms return or get worse many years or decades after the original polio infection.
SYMPTOMS OF POST POLIO SYNDROME
Post Polio Syndrome can include a wide range of symptoms that develop gradually over time, including:
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persistent fatigue (extreme tiredness)
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muscle weakness
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shrinking muscles
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muscle and joint pain
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The condition can have a significant impact on everyday life, making it very difficult to get around and carry out certain tasks and activities. The symptoms tend to get gradually worse over many years, but this happens very slowly and treatment may help slow it down further.
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Post Polio Syndrome is rarely life-threatening, although some people develop breathing and swallowing difficulties that can lead to serious problems, such as chest infections.
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WHO'S AFFECTED
Post Polio Syndrome only affects people who've had polio. It usually develops 15 to 40 years after the infection.
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The condition has become more common in the UK in recent years, because of the high number of Polio cases that occurred during the 1940s and 1950s, before routine vaccination was introduced. It's estimated that there are around 120,000 people living in the UK who survived Polio when they were younger. Some of these have, or will develop, Post Polio Syndrome.
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It's not known exactly how many Polio survivors are or will be affected by Post Polio Syndrome. Estimates vary from as low as 15% to as high as 80%.
WHAT CAUSES POST-POLIO SYNDROME?
The exact cause of post Polio Syndrome is unclear. It's not known whether anything can be done to prevent it.
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The leading theory is that it's the result of the gradual deterioration of nerve cells in the spinal cord (motor neurones) that were damaged by the Polio virus. This would explain why the condition can take years to appear.
Post Polio Syndrome isn't contagious. The theory that the Polio virus may lie dormant in your body, causing Post Polio Syndrome when it becomes reactivated at a later stage, has been disproven.
It's not clear why only some people who've had polio develop Post Polio Syndrome. Those who had severe Polio when they were younger may be more likely to develop the condition.
Contacts us: 0800 043 1935
Email us: info@britishpolio.org.uk
Michael Cassidy CBE
What does it mean to live with disability for 75 years? For me, it began in the shadow of post-war polio epidemics – a childhood of hospitals, callipers, and resilience. Yet it became the foundation of a fulfilling life in law, the City of London, and public service.
In the late 1940s and 50s, polio struck with devastating regularity, mostly infants like myself. Treatments were rudimentary. Some children lost so much muscle control they were confined to “iron lungs” – coffin-like boxes with a gap at one end for feeding. Survivors often faced years of surgery, heavy callipers, and long periods strapped to hospital beds.
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Vaccines emerged in the 1950s, but only later with the “sugar lump” version did mass protection become reliable. Even then, previous sufferers were re-vaccinated for fear of different strains. Within a generation, a disease that terrorised families every summer was virtually eliminated.
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Despite the challenges, I was fortunate. I progressed through grammar school, won a scholarship to Cambridge, and pursued a career in law. Education proved the greatest leveller: physical equality was impossible, but intellectual equality opened the door to opportunity.
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From there, I moved into the City of London, working across law, finance, infrastructure, and the arts. What mattered was not how quickly I could walk, but whether I could think strategically and deliver. One of the most rewarding responsibilities was leading, at the request of Government, the team laying the foundations for a new Garden City. Just a generation earlier, someone with my background might never have been considered.
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Later, I wrote about this for a government initiative encouraging disabled people to apply for public appointments. Too few do, and the UK still has progress to make in opening senior roles to those with disabilities.
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Seventy-five years on, I reflect with gratitude. Survivors of my generation have lived long enough to see polio almost eradicated. That is a victory for science and public health – but also for a society that gave us the chance to thrive.
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Britain, and London in particular, allowed me to live fully: through education, professional opportunity, and civic inclusion. Mine has been a happy life, enriched by family, public service, and the chance to contribute to causes larger than myself.
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This reflection is not nostalgia but a call to action. We have made extraordinary progress since the days when disabled children were institutionalised with little hope of independence. Yet barriers remain. Disabled people are still under-represented in leadership, public appointments, and the professions.
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My perspective is simple: resilience must be met with opportunity. Where society provides the right scaffolding – in health, in education, in employment – individuals can, and will, build remarkable lives.
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Polio shaped me, but it did not limit me. And today, I see countless others proving the same truth across different forms of disability: difference need not mean disadvantage.