TornadoSuit developed by Dr. Mark Morningstar

[livingtwisted]

This article popped up yesterday and I'm curious to know more about it. Google didn't turn up much at all -- has anyone heard of this? I also thought I would share if anyone else is interested in contacting to be part of the study.

http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/11/02/p848320/the-tornadosuit%E2%84%A2-unwinds-scoliosis-patients


The TornadoSuit™ Unwinds Scoliosis Patients

Megan Strauchman, D.O., Medical Director of the Natural Wellness & Pain Relief Centers in Grand Blanc, announced that her clinic would be one of few nationwide to begin initial fittings of this brand new scoliosis device.
The TornadoSuit™ is a new type of functional scoliosis brace that acts upon the spine much differently than conventional rigid-style scoliosis braces. It can be easily concealed underneath clothing, and has shown immediate correction of the scoliosis curvature.

Grand Blanc, MI (PRWEB) February 9, 2011

Megan Strauchman, D.O., Medical Director of the Natural Wellness & Pain Relief Centers in Grand Blanc, announced that her clinic would be one of few nationwide to begin initial fittings of the TornadoSuit™, a brand new scoliosis brace.

The TornadoSuit™ is a new type of functional scoliosis brace that acts upon the spine much differently than conventional rigid-style scoliosis braces. It can be easily concealed underneath clothing, and has shown immediate correction of the scoliosis curvature. The TornadoSuit™ was developed by Dr. Mark Morningstar, who also founded the ARC3D system of scoliosis treatment.

“As an active member of SOSORT, a European based medical society focused on exercise-based treatments for scoliosis, I've been fortunate enough to be exposed to all types of scoliosis treatment worldwide. Having seen the benefits and disadvantages of various types of bracing both in the US and abroad, I tried to create a design that incorporated as many of the advantages as possible without the drawbacks of conventional bracing,” says Morningstar. According to preliminary reports, the TornadoSuit™ is more comfortable than other braces, provides a similar level of support as rigid braces, while being thin enough to conceal under clothing for day-long wear.

Because the TornadoSuit™ is still considered experimental, health insurances do not cover its costs. However, because it is in its early testing stages, patients who want to try the TornadoSuit™ can do so at a dramatically reduced cost or free. Currently, the TornadoSuit™ is being tested on children with scoliosis ages 9-18, and adults with scoliosis age 30-60. For details on how you or your child can be fitted for a TornadoSuit™, you can contact Dr. Strauchman directly at 810-694-3576, or by email at info(at)nwprc(dot)com.

[hdugger]

Yeah, I saw the same article, but I didn't see anything else about it.

I have to say, I certainly hope more thought went into the brace then went into the name - which suggests the biggest, most obtrusive, brace (possibly with enormous moving parts) ever.

Or, maybe it's this thing:

http://www.fun-shop.com/show_image.php?im=/img/01/f0068.jpg&size=300

[Pooka1]

I'm not surprised Morningstar is testing it within a study. He is an evidence-based chiro (who is also an excellent writer in my opinion).

[livingtwisted]

Agreed, the name is odd. But it made me think of something more like being mummified. This is the one result I got from my google search so maybe it's something like this, which I can't imagine would hold up against more aggressive curves... http://strapsbracing.com/bracing-garments/scoliosis-suit/

[jrnyc]

immediate correction for the scoliosis curvature...

well...i want one...right away!

[Pooka1]

Jess, probably all adults can decrease their curve just by standing in a rakish manner. This suit can probably easily decrease a curve while it is being worn. And it might decrease pain.

There is no claim in that blurb at least that I saw that it can permanently decrease a curve. As long as they don't claim that without evidence then it is fine.

[jrnyc]

decrease a curve...? or the pain...?
a curve that has been there for years and years...??

i do not believe it can do more than change the curve for an instant, as standing differently might do...for a moment...
if pain could be decreased so easily...how lovely that would be!
because if one's pain is to the point of not feeling better when laying down on a bed...then i don't see how much it could be helped from the support of a brace... excuse me.... "suit"...
maybe they should be careful of how they phrase their claims...
or keep it for those with curves under 20 degrees!!

the photo i saw was of a little child...on a site called "scoliosis family adventures"
showed a child with small size curves...didn't seem to be making a whole lot of difference...
it should be reserved for children, if for anyone at all!

jess

[Pooka1]

decrease a curve...? or the pain...?
a curve that has been there for years and years...??

Well they don't claim in the blurb the decrease is permanent. And Spinecor is sold to adults to help with pain. I believe the testimonials that claim it helps with pain. What they don't claim is that it decreases curves permanently or even stops progression because there is no evidence.


i do not believe it can do more than change the curve for an instant, as standing differently might do...for a moment...

At this point, they can't claim anything more.


if pain could be decreased so easily...how lovely that would be!
because if one's pain is to the point of not feeling better when laying down on a bed...then i don't see how much it could be helped from the support of a brace... excuse me.... "suit"...

LOL. "excuse me.... 'suit'..." !. That's a good one.

Yes that's right. No brace can probably help with certain pain. No surgery can help with certain pain.


maybe they should be careful of how they phrase their claims...
or keep it for those with curves under 20 degrees!!

I trust Morningstar to scale his claims to the evidence.


the photo i saw was of a little child...on a site called "scoliosis family adventures"
showed a child with small size curves...didn't seem to be making a whole lot of difference...
it should be reserved for children, if for anyone at all!

Well they better have a lot of data to start claiming it is effective for stopping progression or decreasing curves in children. I don't think they are claiming that (yet).

[hdugger]

Good find on the website, jrnyc.

Oh, I see, a suit like a piece of clothing. For some reason, I was thinking suit of armor.

Well, if it works, it would certainly be a huge improvement over the hard braces, I'd think. Not sure how they'll work though the heat issue, though.

[jrnyc]

i see the mention of ages of participants...but no mention of the size of their curves...

jess

[hdugger]

Kids are normally braced somewhere around 30 degrees, and then unbraced when they hit maturity or progress to surgery.

Because adults mostly use braces for pain, I don't think they have firm curve guidelines.

I wonder if our local doc is around. Does bracing for pain in adults also hasten progression by weakening muscles? Or is that less of a concern with a soft brace?

[Pooka1]

i see the mention of ages of participants...but no mention of the size of their curves...

jess

Even surgery for adults is done mainly on a symptomatic basis in addition to proven progression as I understand it. There are not really any hard, fast trigger angles like in kids. There have been one or two cases on here of adults who had sub-surgical curves fused. I was shocked at the time because I didn't understand the criteria are different than for kids.

The guidelines for kids in terms of when to fuse are defensible because kids seem to be a more uniform than adults though still scattered.

The guidelines for when (and if) to brace in kids are being revisited as the literature is largely nonsense. Bracing in adults in only for pain and that's if it works.

[Pooka1]

Hey Jess,

Here is an interesting chat with Dr. Orr about adult scoliosis.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/multimedia/transcripts/orr_adult_scoliosis_transcript.aspx

[livingtwisted]

Good find on the website, jrnyc.

Oh, I see, a suit like a piece of clothing. For some reason, I was thinking suit of armor

Did I miss a link? I'd like to see what it looks like.

[hdugger]

I think she just posted the site title. The link is http://scoliosisfamilyadventures.wordpress.com/

[hdugger]

Here's a slightly-to-the-left-of-the-topic question. I've considered doing some kind of bracing with my son that wasn't all day, but just wearing a brace for maybe an hour a day - long enough to get the feel of the posture - and then taking it off again and trying to hold the posture.

Could you somehow train you muscles in that way? By slowly learning the way the brace is holding your curve and learning to mimic it? Or are the things the brace does simply not possible for muscles to ever accomplish?

[livingtwisted]

Your best bet would be Schroth and Cheneau bracing combined. The idea is that you do the Schroth exercises both in the brace and out. And when you're in the brace there is still room to actively move away from the pressure points. For kids the bracing is the primary treatment and Schroth complements it. In adults, it's the other way around -- the bracing complements the Schroth.

(thanks for reposting the link!)

[hdugger]

I think his curve is too high for that brace, and the only time when he would have tolerated a Milwaukee brace would have been when he was fighting his rapid progression. I wondered if something like this would be configurable enough for a high curve like his.

More of a passing thought - he's almost graduated, and not in pain. He's probably out of the thinking-about-treatments phase for the next 5 to 10 years. But I do want to have a good arsenal of things ready if he should need them.

[livingtwisted]

Do you mean the apex is high up on his back or that the cobb angle is large? The standard cobb angle cut-offs given for kids don't really apply to adults since cobb angle becomes less of an indication for surgery in adults. It's not that the braces aren't made for larger curves. But I don't know much about what happens when there's a cervical curve.

[hdugger]

I mean it's up high. It's not cervical, but it starts at T2, and that's considered too high for most conventional braces. It's termed a high thoracic curve, instead of just a thoracic curve.