When the Weather Moves Into My Body

When the Weather Moves Into My Body

by | Oct 2, 2026 | General, New, personalblog

A change in the weather can make itself known in my hip.

The pain arrives, and suddenly the weather is more than something happening outside my window. It becomes part of how I move, how comfortable I feel and what the day asks of me.

I notice it in my head too. Around changes in atmospheric pressure, there is a pressure sensation that is difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced it. I associate it with the weather, although I cannot tell you exactly what causes it.

Living with the late effects of polio means learning to notice these things. Our bodies have their own history, and sometimes an ordinary change in temperature becomes a very personal experience.

A conversation with Susan Schoenbeck inspired me to write about this: what I notice, how I respond and what I do to look after myself.

My routine includes supplements, warmth, weekly physiotherapy and gentle movement. None of this is a universal recipe. It is a glimpse into my everyday life, alongside what research can—and cannot—tell us.

What I feel, and what science can explain

There is something reassuring about discovering that an experience has been studied. Especially when other people sometimes dismiss it.

Cold sensitivity after polio has a scientific basis. In a small study published in 1985, Richard Bruno and colleagues examined five polio survivors and age-matched controls at different room temperatures. They measured skin temperature, blood flow and nerve conduction.

Their findings suggested that altered control of blood vessels could contribute to heat loss, with cooling affecting nerve and muscle function. Five participants cannot represent every survivor, but the study offers a possible explanation for why relatively mild cold may become uncomfortable. Bruno and colleagues, Orthopedics, 1985

The question of atmospheric pressure and pain is less settled.

A 2023 review found associations between weather conditions and osteoarthritis pain. A 2024 review using a different study approach found no consistent associations for several musculoskeletal conditions. Neither establishes what causes my hip pain or the sensation in my head, and neither specifically explains weather sensitivity in post-polio. Wang and colleagues, 2023, Ferreira and colleagues, 2024

I can describe the pattern I experience without claiming that the mechanism has been proven. That leaves room for both personal experience and scientific honesty.

My approach to nutrition and supplements

One part of my routine is paying attention to nutrition. I use supplements made from dried fruit, vegetables and berry juice, either in capsules or as powders mixed into a drink.

I also take magnesium, glycine and collagen.

My intention is to look after my nutritional intake and, within that, the needs of my immune system. These products are additions to everyday nourishment. They do not replace meals, and I do not regard them as treatments for post-polio or weather sensitivity.

What interests me is how a routine fits into real life. Something may be easy to discuss in theory and much harder to manage on a tiring day. Convenience matters when shopping, preparing food and clearing up all require energy.

But convenience does not tell us what a product does.

A capsule containing fruit or vegetable ingredients should not be assumed to provide everything the original food provides. Formulations differ, so I think the contents deserve more attention than the attractive pictures on the packaging.

For me, the important question is whether an addition has a clear nutritional purpose.

What I notice when people around me catch colds

There is another personal observation I want to share.

When people around me have colds, I often remain largely spared from becoming seriously unwell myself. Naturally, I am grateful for that.

It would be easy to place that observation beside my supplement routine and draw a straight line between the two. I cannot honestly do that. My experience does not show whether supplements contributed, and it cannot predict what another person would experience.

Exposure, previous infections, vaccination and other circumstances can differ considerably.

The National Institutes of Health explains that adequate amounts of certain vitamins and minerals are important for normal immune function. Supplements can help increase intake when a nutrient is lacking. However, in people without a deficiency, routine supplementation generally does little to prevent or treat specific infections. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Immune Function

Looking after nutritional needs has a place in everyday care. Claiming protection from illness requires evidence that my personal story cannot provide.

I can share what I take and what I notice. I cannot offer anyone a guarantee.

Magnesium, glycine and collagen in perspective

These three supplements are part of my routine, but they deserve separate consideration.

Magnesium is an essential mineral involved in many processes, including normal muscle and nerve function. That physiological role does not establish that additional magnesium relieves post-polio symptoms or weather-related hip pain. Existing intake, individual needs and possible medication interactions matter. NIH: Magnesium

Glycine is an amino acid. A 2023 systematic review examined its effects in adult humans across several areas. Some small sleep studies reported favourable findings, but the reviewers highlighted small sample sizes and a high risk of bias. This is not evidence of a treatment for post-polio or temperature sensitivity. Systematic review of glycine administration, 2023

Collagen has been studied in joint conditions, including knee osteoarthritis. A 2025 meta-analysis reported improvements in pain and function, with substantial variation between studies. Those findings cannot simply be transferred to post-polio, to my hip or to the particular product I use. Simental-Mendía and colleagues, 2025

Sharing a routine also means being clear about its limits. Supplements deserve thoughtful questions, including whether they are appropriate alongside existing medicines and health conditions.

Warmth now, and perhaps a different home one day

I am seriously considering moving to southern Europe in a few years. I would like to find somewhere with a warmer, more settled climate and milder winters.

The thought has become part of how I imagine my future: living somewhere that might make the colder months more comfortable. I know southern Europe has its own seasons, cold spells and summer heat. A move would take careful consideration, and I cannot know in advance how my body would respond.

Until then, I find warmth closer to home.

On colder days, I spend my evenings on the sofa with an electric heated blanket, warming my feet, legs and the area up to my hip. Merino wool thermal underwear is another part of my routine, an extra layer I appreciate when the temperature drops.

These ordinary details belong in the story of living with post-polio. Sometimes looking after ourselves means choosing what to wear, finding a comfortable place to rest and allowing ourselves that time.

For me, the blanket and warm clothing are personal comforts. They are not ways to repair nerves or change the course of post-polio.

For anyone using electric warmth, following the device instructions matters. Reduced sensation or circulation calls for individual advice, because heat can cause burns when it cannot be reliably felt. NHS physiotherapy guidance on heat and cold

Perhaps, in a few years, my winter evenings will look different. For now, there is my sofa, my merino layers and the welcome warmth of my blanket.

Why weekly physiotherapy matters to me

A weekly appointment with my physiotherapist is a must for me.

Having that regular contact gives this part of my life a place in the calendar. Movement and physical difficulties do not have to wait until everything becomes more demanding.

My weekly rhythm is personal. It is not a recommendation that every survivor needs the same frequency or programme.

A major review of post-polio syndrome describes individualised rehabilitation and energy conservation as central approaches to management. It also emphasises the complexity of fatigue and the limited understanding of many aspects of the condition. Li Hi Shing and colleagues, 2019

Our starting points differ, so our plans should differ too. An exercise that is manageable for one person may ask too much of another. Professional guidance needs to make room for the person doing the movement.

A little yoga, chair yoga and swimming

Alongside physiotherapy, I do a few small yoga exercises, gentle chair yoga or go swimming. These are ways I try to preserve flexibility and keep movement in my life.

Chair yoga belongs here because movement does not have to begin on a mat on the floor. An adaptation can make participation more practical.

Swimming is part of my routine too, although research on water exercise should be described accurately.

A small controlled study published in 2001 examined exercises in heated water for people with the late effects of polio. Participants reported less pain-related distress, but the programme did not improve all measured outcomes. It involved non-swimming exercises, so it does not prove that ordinary swimming has the same effects. Willén and colleagues, 2001

Exercise literature in post-polio also stresses avoiding activities that cause increasing muscle pain or excessive fatigue. Agre, 1995

Gentle movement still needs to fit the body doing it. There is no prize for doing more than that body can comfortably manage.

Sharing the ordinary parts of our lives

The conversation with Susan encouraged me to put these experiences into words.

There is my hip when the weather changes. The pressure sensation in my head. The supplements I choose, the blanket on the sofa and the weekly physiotherapy appointment. There are small movements that keep me engaged with my body, and thoughts about where I might live one day.

Together, they form part of how I care for myself.

I share them because our community needs room for practical experiences as well as scientific information. We can exchange ideas, ask questions and acknowledge uncertainty without dismissing what someone feels.

And we can make daily life a little more understandable to people who have never had to think about the temperature of their feet.

With love and sunshine,
Viney

These are my personal experiences, alongside general research information. They do not establish supplement benefits or replace individual medical, nutritional or physiotherapy advice. New or changing symptoms should be assessed rather than automatically attributed to the weather or previous polio.

My Dad and Mama…

by | Jun 16, 2026 | Voices of Polio Survivors

told me

I contracted spinobulbar polio in 1946 when a pandemic brought 13 cases in a single day to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By 1950, I was five years old and could walk with a steel and leather brace on one leg My dad said I was one of the “lucky ones.”

My dad and mama told me I had to use my leg every day. I could not just slouch around on the couch. They said it did not matter if I fell down dragging my braced leg. I should get back up again, not complain, and keep on going as if nothing had happened.

So, I did. When the weather was below zero, I was sent out into the snow and cold with my brother, Mike, to play. Snow piles cushioned falls. I never told dad and mama that being out in the cold weather made my leg hurt much, much more. As a child, I sensed my parents’ suffering having a child disabled with a disease people greatly feared. I hid my pain to not make life harder for them. I got pretty good at pretending. I was the typical polio kid⸺ smiling through the pain.  After being outdoors in the cold, I would peel off my snowsuit and boots and huddle up to the heat vent in the living room so my polio leg would be warmed.

If my leg hurt too much to get up off the floor, I would cross my legs and watch my polio leg calf muscle spasm. This was interesting to me and a distraction from the pain as I could see a current of electricity and wiggly contraction move down my polio leg again and again.

“Use it or lose it,” my dad would say with a proud grin on his face. “Good job” he would say. Those were important words for me to hear. His encouragement taught me I could live with the pain in exchange for strengthening my damaged muscle.

Dad would also reward me with an ice-cream or custard cone when I walked with him around the big triangular block on which we lived. Yes, my polio leg hurt. I had to stop at intervals to rest. The sugary treat was not the only reward. I also sensed my dad’s pride and relief that I could keep on moving. Mobility became my responsibility. I learned to balance regular exercise even if painful with rest.

My brother and I were expected to do our share of household chores and also to help neighbors. We had yard work to do every season…planting, lawn care, snow removal during Wisconsin winters.

My parents expected us to shovel off our elderly neighbors’ walkways although I admit I did not accomplish as much of that as my big brother, Mike who was three years older than me. Dad and Mama would tell us that we shoveled snow for our elderly neighbors not because they told us we had to do so but because we were practicing how to be kind to those in need.

Lessons learned: I found that the kindness my parents instilled in my brother and me got passed down to my brothers’ and my children, and then, on to their children. I found Karma exists as the manifestation of kindness passed down to the great-grandchildren Dad and Mama would never be alive to set eyes on in this world.

I also learned that if you are one of the “lucky ones,” you should give more to others. Being able to help others is a privilege and can bring a whole lot of joy!

The only chore my brother got to do but not ever assigned to me was pushing the rotary lawn mover because my parents were afraid that I would fall into it and get cut up. Instead, I crawled around the edges of the lawn trimming blades of grass by hand.

By expecting me to be a responsible member of the family, my dad and mama fed into me the self-fulfilling prophecy that I could do almost anything anyone else could. That my work mattered. That a team can be composed of people who are not all alike. That no one gets out of the drudgeries of life because of the polio virus happened to infect them. I learned that polio did not break me. 

Lessons I learned: I can do most anything I put my mind to within reason. But it is always important to understand that not everyone can do so. I learned as a Director of Nursing to respect nurses with different levels of education and experience and remind them that the best team is the one that respects each other and works together.

Oh, the lessons…

by | Jun 16, 2026 | Voices of Polio Survivors

I have learned about polio.

I am still teaching medical microbiology at age 85. I give zoom conferences to polio survivors and health care providers around the world.

My goal is to complete a book to help polio survivors, their families, and medical personnel.

Polio’s influence…

by | Jun 16, 2026 | Voices of Polio Survivors

on relationships goes beyond childhood.

I remember the prettiest girl in my high school class. She had childhood polio. In her senior year, her legs became weaker and she had to wear braces on both her legs. Her steady boyfriend broke up with her because of this.

Women who had polio can be an extremely attractive group in many ways and anyone would be lucky to date them. But I know of instances where parents interceded to stop a guy from dating a girl disabled by polio.

If you are a lucky polio survivor, your spouse will stay with you and help you when post-polio robs you of strength and/or overwhelms you with pain.

But my experience is that when post-polio hits and the wife-husband dynamic changes because the polio survivor cannot physically do as much as she/he could before, the non-disabled spouse often does not step up to the plate to help. Spouses may not adapt, making the polio survivor feel very alone. Divorce rates are high.

Maybe the spouse is embarrassed by the polio survivor’s disabilities. Or the non-disabled spouse just does not want to give more than he/she did before to contribute to a relationship.

I am one of the lucky ones. My wife stayed with me and is an advocate for post-polio syndrome awareness.

 

My polio was a secret

by | Jun 7, 2026 | Voices of Polio Survivors

My parents kept my 1948 bout with polio a secret. We had been vacationing when I became symptomatic. Since I did not suffer paralysis, my family died holding the secret inside. But not forever.

I started to experience post-polio symptoms in the early 1980s. An orthopedist and physiatrist confirmed the diagnosis. My aunt, who knew all along, confirmed I had polio.

So, not until I was an adult have I needed, at first an ankle-foot-orthotic (AFO) and then a full metal and leather brace on my polio affected left leg. Now I wear braces on both legs.

Privacy Policy