New to this - Need Information Please

[Kim041]

Hello everyone. My name is Kim. Recently our daughter Caitlyn was diagnosed with scoliosis. She has a lumbar curve of 30° and thoracic of 15°. We have an appointment on September 30 with a specialist to determine what our next step should be. She is very active. She plays basketball, runs track and is a cheerleader. I am worried that she will have to stop her activities. I know she would be so sad. Judging by what I have read, it seems she might get a brace. Do you all have any information on the different types of braces? How do they determine which one you should wear? Does it have to do with the location of the curves? Her hips are way out of alignment. This is another concern. Does the brace help that? Finally (for now ) it is my understanding that the brace cannot correct the curves that are already there, just prevent further curving, is that right? What about the stories on kids wearing braces and then they are done with them and the curves come back? Any information you have on this would be greatly appreciated. I am going to tell Caitlyn about this website so she can have a place to go to ask questions of kids that are going throught the same thing. Looking forward to responses from anyone who can help.

Thanks,

Kim

[LindaRacine]

Hi Kim...

The type of brace prescribed is based on the location of the curves and the doctor who prescribes it. If the major curve goes into the high thoracic area, for example, the only brace that has been shown to be effective is the Milwaukee. You can actually download the Scoliosis Research Societies Bracing Manual here:

http://www.srs.org/professionals/

Braces are meant to hold the curves until skeletal growth is complete. At that time, brace treatment is stopped, and some percentage of those patients will experience an increase in their curves. The percentage varies by type of brace and type of curve. You can read abstracts from bracing studies here:

http://www.scoliosislinks.com/BracingResearch.htm

You'll have more a lot more details once you've had a chance to talk to the specialist, and hopefully your decisions won't be overly difficult.

Good luck!

Regards,
Linda

[flowerpower]

Hi,

Caitlyn might also enjoy www.spinekids.com - lots of teen girls (and some boys) all dealing with various aspects of scoliosis. Quite a few parents here also post on that site.

Renee