Patient Question:Disease:2 year old boy, right leg weakness for more than 2 months, dragging walkingDescription:In mid-February 2015, the child’s right leg was found dragging walking, went to Xinjiang Medical College to see a doctor and said to come back if it was still like this after 1 month. In March, I had a massage, but the symptoms were still there, and I felt that my right leg was a little stronger than before, but it was still not very strong in the morning when I got up and got out of bed, and I felt better after walking for a while. He said that the hip joint was a bit loose, and that the inflammation of the hip joint was caused by the previous cold, and that he would go back a month later. He was recommended to see a different doctor, who measured the knee bounce and found that the right leg was weaker than the left leg. I would like some help: 1. Is this a post-polio symptom? 2. If so, can the child do rehabilitation now? 3. Can polio only be diagnosed by electromyography? The first affiliated hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Department of Orthopedics, Wuhan University People’s Hospital, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ming Jianghua replied: Hello, parents! The reason for this is that the children are generally vaccinated with the corresponding vaccines and the incidence is very rare. The onset of polio sequelae is usually followed by a high fever, which is followed by incomplete paralysis of the limbs, but the senses are normal. If your child is cooperative, you can have an electromyogram of the lower extremities. Electromyography can be useful for identification. But no matter what the cause is, timely rehabilitation is necessary now! Patient Question: Hello, Director Ming, thank you very much for your reply! The child did have a cold and fever, about 38.5 degrees, but I’m not sure which cold it was. Since the child is small, the doctor at the hospital here said that the child will not be given an electromyogram until he or she is 4 or 5 years old, so what other tests are there to determine if it is polio? Also, what is the current rehab program? Can I get acupuncture and massage? Thank you! The orthopedic surgery department of Wuhan University People’s Hospital, Ming Jianghua replied: At present, the differential diagnosis is important, but the important thing is to make rehabilitation training, you need to go to the orthopedic department of a large hospital and ask a doctor to make a rating of the muscle strength of the lower limbs, without any equipment, you need to communicate well with the child before you go, and get the best cooperation after you go! Some hospitals have wards and specialties similar to cerebral palsy rehabilitation in the pediatric department. Whether it’s pediatric anesthesia, cerebral palsy, orthopedic surgery for neurogenic diseases generally at the age of 6-12, so early exercise rehabilitation is especially important! Patient Question: Thank you for your reply, Director Ming! We went back to the original hospital to consult the doctor, the doctor said it is reactive arthritis, let observe 1 month and then go back, do a hip MRI to look at the uneasy. We asked the doctor if it was pediatric orthopedics, but the doctor said no, and now he told us to wait a month and go back. Like you said, we also want to do rehab because the child’s right leg looks thinner than the left leg. We can’t wait a month like this, right? Now we massage the leg in the morning, so the leg is not very dragging when we get out of bed and walk, and when we play outside for a while, we basically can’t see it, and the leg is stronger than in the morning. Last night the child’s father massaged his legs, but the child went to bed saying that his knees hurt and his middle thighs hurt, which scared me, so can I continue to massage? Thank you for your advice, we will go back to the doctor and ask for the lower limb muscle strength rating. There is also a feeling of weakness in the ankle of the child, what is the cause of this? Wuhan University People’s Hospital, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ming Jianghua replied: No need to wait! It’s important to encourage the child to do active flexion and extension training of the knee and ankle joints and lower limb leg lift training.