cqvip:To examine the long term effects of polio, maximal vo luntary strength and voluntary activation of elbow flexor muscles of 177 patients from a postpolio clinic were investigated using twitch interpolation. Muscle endurance was studied in 142 patients during 45 min of submaximal exercise, and predictors of impaired muscle performance were investigated. Twentynine of 177 patients (16.4% ) had impaired voluntary drive to their elbowflexor muscles, but only 16 (9.0% ) had markedly reduced elbow flexor strength, despite 74 (41.8% ) reporting they were initially affected in their tested limb and 172 (97.2% ) patients reporting new generalized symptoms. Seven patients had impaired muscle endurance in the tests of strength and voluntary drive. During the submaximal exercise, 16 patients (11.3% ) had impaired peripheral muscle endurancewith normal voluntary activation. These results confirm a low incidence of impaired upper limb muscle performance in postpolio patients, despite many patients having subjective symptoms consistent with postpolio syndrome. There was an increased relative risk for impaired muscle function in those patients with a subjective decrease in strength in the tested limb, a recent decline in activities of daily living in their tested limb, and who used orthotic devices in their tested limb. Monitoring of function in prior polio patients with impaired muscle performance may be useful, particularly when combined with investigation of other potential contributory factors to the functional impairment.
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