Polio and Post Polio Syndrome


Polio Poster Girl Walks Again   Chiropractic Home August 1957 Volume XX1, No. 8.   (Photos and data were provided by Chiropractic News publishing corporation of Detroit, Michigan.)

  • Reproductions of March of Dimes polio poster child five-year-old Winifred Gardella of Stockton, CA were used during the 1952-53 March of Dimes Campaign. It showed her in a hospital crib and carried the following caption: "Will WALK AGAIN." "There is no hope!" These were the words given to the family of little Winifred Gardella after 2 ½ years of expert care by the March of Dimes." She was declared a hopeless paraplegic after 2 ½ years of care. Her grandparents took their granddaughter to Glendale, California chiropractor, Dr. Lewis Robertson and after six months, she was able to walk again without crutches or braces. Photo caption: "Yes, Winifred can walk and run now. A doctor of Chiropractic took over. Dr. Lewis Robertson, a member of "We Walk Again" foundation, restored Winifred to a happy, health childhood. She now walks with her doctor." The issue highlighted another such story with a photo caption: "Kicking out in a dance step with complete confidence is Karen Moore, 4, another polio poster girl, with her Chiropractor, Dr. Henry G. Sole. After twenty weeks of regular medical care had left her in braces, Dr. Sole took over. You see the results" (picture of happy doctor and patient).


Clients evaluation of chiropractic treatment for post polio syndrome.   Westbrook MT.   J Aust Chiropr Assoc 1990 (Dec); 20 (4): 143-151

  • A survey was done of 304 people who had survived polio and who had post polio syndrome (general fatigue, pain, muscular weakness, muscle atrophy, cold intolerance, dyspnea, dysphagia and sleep apnea). It revealed that chiropractors were significantly more likely than M.D.s or physiotherapists to be rated as helpful.


Post-polio syndrome: A Case Report.   Bougie JD, Cassidy JD, and Donat JR.   Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System, Summer 1994; 2(2): 75-78.

  • A discussion of this condition, which presents as symptoms of weakness, pain and fatigue experienced by patients who were afflicted with polio.