travelling with brace

[tyk]

my 13 year old daughter was just diagnosed with scheuermann's kyphosis, and will be put in a Boston Brace in February.
in the mean time we have a summer family trip planned. what is it like, or is it possible to travel on planes or cars for long periods of time. i am more then ready to cancel this trip if it is physically impossible for her to go. her treatment is more important to me right now, since she'll be wearing this brace only until she stops growing.

any travel advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[angelover]

ive worn my boston brace for a little more than a year now and in October my family and i traveled to Texas in CAR from CALIFORNIA!!! it wasnt that bad. We drove for 2 days and most of the time i was having too much fun too even think about pain. my brace did rub againest rub my hips a lot though and hurt me a bit but only because it was waaaaay too small for me. [im getting it adjusted sometime next week] but if the brace fits your daughter fine, it shouldnt be a problem. if i were you, i would continue with my family trip plans and just have fun! just make sure your daughter is as close to comfortable as possible and good luck!

[Beatriz Torres]

Hi : Please continue with your plans of traveling . You an your daugther will love to have 3 or 4 small pillows or small wrapps folded to mantain her spine straight . Is she having Physiotherapy ? Please contact the Katherine Schroth Klinic in Badsuberheim in Germany . They can give you a lot of information They specialize in spinal dysfuntions .
Also Manuel Rigo MD.In Barcelona in Spain.
Warm regardsm, Beatriz

[phaden]

Re: travelling with brace

Originally posted by tyk

any travel advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Our daughter has been in a Boston 23/7 for about 14 months, and we just go wherever we want to go -- it's no problem. Airplane seats and car seats have been fine, but some bus seats seem to push the brace forward onto the hips and legs a bit. It probably depends on exactly how the brace fits (Caitlin's comes up quite high and has a sort of sticky-out bit at the top that didn't like the bus seats very much). Anticipate a little squirming.

The biggest problem that Caitlin has is actually with the heat. We were in Rarotonga last year when it was very hot and humid, and wearing a solid plastic corset was not so nice. She liked to be able to change the singlet she wears under her brace more frequently than usual.

She was worried about setting off the alarms at the airport from the metal buckles on the brace, but this didn't happen.

Bottom line: If you're lucky and the brace works, your daughter will be wearing it for a long time, so you might as well just get on with things as normal.

Enjoy your holiday - Patricia

[mzl]

going on a plane w the brace is just like riding in a car w ur brace. the brace doesn't beep when you go thru the metal detectors and you should have a note from your orhtopidist just in case the metal detector does go off (from mzl's daughter)

[donkeelover]

I did a lot of travelling in my back braces. I think three major big time car trips in them, and two plane trips, one of them all the way across the country. It's a little uncomfortable in the car at first, but not really distractingly so. If you find a good position, then it's just fine. Just make sure to take it off and wipe it out with rubbing alchohol each evening, and make sure she gets her maximum time out of it when you're travelling. It feels SO good to get the brace off after being in the car with it. It's like you don't even notice that it feels weird until you get it off. So it's periods of fineness, and then total blissful comfort . I didn't even notice the brace on the airplane. It was no problem for me at all. I did have a note from my doctor about the brace for getting through metal detectors when I flew into Washinton D.C. and then Seattle, and I had to use it every time, so doctor notes are a good thing. Definitely keep your travel plans. At least for me, there is a certain sense of irrational guilt that comes with scoliosis, and you don't want to push that by making your daughter feel as if she's interrupting your family vacation. A fun vacation will be a great distraction from the brace anyway! Good luck, and feel free to email me if you have any more questions (donkeemagic@yahoo.com)!

[claribeatlegirl]

I traveled in a plane, and it was fine. No worse than if I were in a car, just for a shorter amount of time.

[carebear23]

check the seats..

The only time I had any real trouble travelling was when I sat in the back seats because they tilted up and caused the bottom of my brace to cut off the circulation in my legs.

I thought of it as insentive to wear my brace. I come from a family of 6 and for the middle child to get the front seat.. it was a big deal!

If the seat isn't flat make sure you have a pillow or something to help level it out. And it does get very warm in a brace so make sure she has say about the air conditioning.. and maybe make sure your family has long sleeved shirts or something incase it gets too cold in the vehicle.

The main thing is that she's wearing her brace because it could make a huge difference to her future.

[drummergrl]

I have a Milwaukee and my family drove from ohio to montana! It didn't hurt, and pillows made it better, just make sure to keep it cooler in the car so she doesn't get hot. Also, donkeemagic was right, you don't want her to feel like a nuisance, so try to keep things normal. Have fun on your trip!

[brittni26]

Don't cancel your trip! You'll make your daughter feel as though it's her fault that no one else gets to have any fun! I wore a brace for 8 years, and did so much travelling- both car and airplane. I never had any problems, never set off any metal detectors, and rarely had any pain. If you're going to be in the car for a while, you may want to stop every few hours and let her get out and walk around. I usually slept in the car on long trips anyway, so there really wasn't any discomfort. It may be annoying at first, but once your daughter gets used to wearing the brace, she won't even notice it's there!

[vandesha]

my 13 year old daughter was just diagnosed with scheuermann's kyphosis, and will be put in a Boston Brace in February.
in the mean time we have a summer family trip planned. what is it like, or is it possible to travel on planes or cars for long periods of time. i am more then ready to cancel this trip if it is physically impossible for her to go. her treatment is more important to me right now, since she'll be wearing this brace only until she stops growing.

any travel advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

well i wint some whair for an hor and it was really hard and it hurt so if i was u i wuldnt go on the trip