tlso brace

[Grace]

Iam 27 years old, and got scoliosis upper 22 degree and lower 32 degree. I wear tlso brace. Dokter said i should use 23 hours/dy but i can't so i use my brace for only when i got sleep about 8 hours.

Can my tlso brace still effective if i wear 8 hours/days????...

[LindaRacine]

Grace...

No brace will permanently reduce your curves because you are already skeletally mature. Wearing the brace is probably only making your muscles atrophy, and a good scoliosis specialist would certainly tell you to stop wearing it immediately.

--Linda

[SandyC]

Grace,
Why did your doctor tell you to wear a brace??? Please see a doctor that is qualified to work with adult scolosis patients. The tlso brace is doing more harm than good. You need to be keeping your back and abdomen muscles strong, not weakening them by non-use.

[Grace]

Dear friends,


But my curve is progress, when 26 years old my lower curve 30 degree and now my curve 32 degree. What should i do???

[LindaRacine]

Grace...

There's a 5 degree margin of error whenever curves are measured, so 2 degrees really isn't anything to worry about. If you feel you have to do something, you might try yoga or physical therapy, but bracing definitely won't help.

--Linda

[Grace]

Dear friends

thanks for your reply.

But when i check in http://curvemenders.homestead.com/AdultBracing.html, told that people who reached adult/mature could use brace too.

I little bit confuse...

[Alison]

Always be very careful what you read on the internet............I had a look at the website and I had alarm bells ringing in my head from the moment I saw it was a .com address

Alison

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Allison, what does a .com address mean? Is it a commercial whereas .org is an organization? Kris

[Alison]

Not really

I'm not very 'compter wordy' but I'll give it a go at explaining it, it's how we look at it for things such as university assigments and referencing

In the world of the internet, .com is the cheapest web site space to buy. Many .Com's are even free. What you have to be careful of is that 'anyone' out there could get some space.......doesn't necessarily mean that it's right. In terms of university referencing it is considered the 'least reputable' and have to be treated with much caution.

.Org come's next. These one's always cost, and cost more than a .com. I think there's certain criteria/rules you have to meet for one, but I'm not sure. .org's are considered to be more reputable for university referencing than .com. They are usually organisations, associations, charities etc

.edu, .gov are considered the most reputable and the best for research and reliability of information. For a .edu you have to an education institution of some kind and a .gov you have to be some kind of goverment organisation. They are considered of highest repute and you can use them as sources for papers etc and consider the research/information on them to be 'reputable' and of some weight/worth.

With the .org's/.com's there are some exceptions to the rule. I think what I'm trying to say is that whilst the internet's a fantastic resource, you need to be careful of what you read/find and not necessarily take it to be 'right'.

When I saw the website in question was a .com I had kinda 'caution' bells ringing in my head, for what I was going to read. The resources on their don't seem to be sustained, the references are a bit iffy and there's lot of 'big fancy words' on the website but I just have the gut feeling it's questionable and unsustainable generally as a whole


Alison

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Alison, very interesting! You must be a student in college? Thank you for the info. Kris

[Alison]

No prob, Aye I am a university/college student (guilty as charged lol) I'm a first year student registered Nurse.

We've got the referencing........what's reputable etc, what you should look at/not look at lecture drilled into us from day one and it's reinforced at regular occasions

Alison

[Grace]

Dear Friends,

How about ASCO treatment , .... It is true they can cure the people who is skeletally mature???

[mocity]

I had severe scoliosis as a child which included 2 S curves. I wore a brace 4th grade through 9th grade. I was told that you wear the brace until your bones aren't growing anymore which is normally 2 years after a female begins menstration. Typically the braces are worn by adolescents to prevent having to have the back surgery. I had some bad luck and my curves kept curving and I had the surgery. As bad as the surgery was it did not compare to having to wear that brace 23 hours a day as a young female. So, besides all that, why would you wear a brace now when you are matured. I think the only time a brace is worn is to cut down on pain... never to "fix" the problem. I don't think it is even possible once grown.

[SandyC]

Grace,
Once the bones of the body have matured, there is no changing the shape. Whether you brace, hang up side down, "crack" them, Accupuncture or herbs, once they stop growing that's it. As much as people want to avoid surgery, that is the only way to correct scoliosis. There are thousands of web sites and just as many con artists willing to sell you anything and take your money. The worst type of con is the medical. They pray on peoples hope and fears and take their money and leave them the same way and sometimes worst off than if the patient had just done nothing.

[marmyte]

As bad as the surgery was it did not compare to having to wear that brace 23 hours a day as a young female.

just to get slightly off topic here but i had to respond to this statement you made: i've been braced and had surgery, and i have to say YES surgery is painful, YES for me it's been worthwhile, but no way no how is it preferable to achieving correction through a brace! i agree that braces don't work once you're skeletally mature but if you are fortunate enough for one to do its job during adolescence then that's fantastic and the psychological "suffering" becomes irrelevant.

i don't like the way there's such a negative opinion of bracing, occasionally due to the perception of how they look. they're not meant to be attractive, they're meant to either help you get better or prevent you from getting drastically worse. in the grand scheme of things, a person is never wearing one for long and it's a TINY price to pay if the condition of a patient doesn't worsen and gets to avoid surgery.

i'm sorry it didn't "cure" you, it didn't do that for me either. but i completely disagree that it was a horrendous experience in comparison to surgery

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Marmyte, more power to you! Thank you for being so blunt about it. My daughter would much rather have still been wearing her brace until adulthood, a few more years yet, than to have had surgery this summer. I am thankful for surgery, but for those who are fortunate enough to keep it under control by wearing a brace, be very, very thankful the brace is being effective! Kris

[mocity]

We are all entitled to our own opinions which is what I stated... MY OPINION. In my opinion, wearing the brace was much worse than my surgery. The brace caused me a TON of physical pain in addition to the emotional pain. Your comment "the psychological "suffering" becomes irrelevant" is way off base. I don't ever believe that psychological suffering is irrelevant no matter what the cause.

Fact is that the brace didn't work and I could have avoided all of that by having the surgery in the first place. I realize at the time there was no way to know that however, my opinion was that my experience with the brace was much, much worse than the surgery. My condition did continue to worsen and I was not able to avoid surgery.

Everyone's experience varies so all of our opinions may vary as well.

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Mocity, you have a good point. I remember debating 2 years ago whether to get a brace or do surgery when my daughter was first diagnosed. I read on the internet how some people had worn braces for years and then ended up with surgery. At the time, I was debating how that would feel to endure years with a brace, only to end up in surgery anyway. Well, now I am that parent, as I think back 2 years. I can relate to both opinions, wearing a brace for extended time vs. surgery. Everyone is definitely permissible to have our own opinions, and I'm so glad we all express them! Kris

[mocity]

Kris - Thank you for your post. I was a little upset by the comment from the other poster... it felt like an attack. I am not someone just stating an opinion but have never gone through this. I wore the back brace for 5 years and had the surgery in 1989. I am definately able to post a valid opinion of the experience I have gone through. I was 9 when I was diagnosed and am now 34 so I have been living with this for quite a while. Personally, I am interested in everyone's DIFFERENT experiences so I can gain a better understanding of this disease.

I wish the best of luck to you and to your daughter.

[marmyte]

neither am i stating an uninformed opinion. i've been through this too and i think everyone on this board has been through some form of scoliosis in some capacity. yes bracing is hard, but (and maybe this is the way i was brought up coming through) i thought it was best to grit my teeth. i'd have worn my brace forever if it meant i would get correction that way. at the same time as trying not to sugar-coat my experience, i also attempt to give scoliosis and treatments of it a positive outlook as i would like to do my small part to end the stigma surrounding scoliosis, and maybe even help just one child have an easier ride

[sweetness514]

I wore the brace for at least 4 years 23 hours a day and had to have sugery anyways. IMO neither of them were good experiences but if I would not have worn the brace maybe my curve would have progressed faster and I would have needed surgery in my teens which I was not ready to get at that time, personnally. The brace hurt and the scoliosis hurt too. It was also hard when other teenagers would touch me and call me names and not understand what I was wearing it for. I also had a lot of problems digesting with it.

All in all I'm still glad I wore it as I firmly believe that it's best to wait for surgery when pain is not that big of a factor since fusing the spine is not good for the rest of the vertebreas that are not fused. Myself I had pain when the scoliosis was progressing aggressivly in my teen years while wearing the brace and from 17 to 25 I was mostly pain free and was glad to not be fused in that period.

So all in all, I agree will a lot of points everybody has shared here :)

[mocity]

The concensus here is that we all have our own opinions. We are all here hoping to shed some light on the experience. I am curious what kind of braces you guys wore. I am older (I believe) and possibly wore a different kind of back brace. My spine curved at a rapid pace and I had alot of pain while I wore the brace so my experience was not a good one. I am happy for those that it has helped!

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Anybody ready for a big group hug? With or without braces or rods?! I'm going to bed now with warm fuzzies from you guys tonight! Glad we are all on the same wavelength. We all continue to enjoy life as well as possible in spite of scoliosis!!! Thanks for sharing all! Kris

[Grace]

(I had severe scoliosis as a child which included 2 S curves. I wore a brace 4th grade through 9th grade. I was told that you wear the brace until your bones aren't growing anymore which is normally 2 years after a female begins menstration. Typically the braces are worn by adolescents to prevent having to have the back surgery. I had some bad luck and my curves kept curving and I had the surgery. As bad as the surgery was it did not compare to having to wear that brace 23 hours a day as a young female. So, besides all that, why would you wear a brace now when you are matured. I think the only time a brace is worn is to cut down on pain... never to "fix" the problem. I don't think it is even possible once grown)




Dear Mocity,

I think why I worn TLSO brace, coz i have man hormon much than female hormon so I guess I can still grow little bit or reduce a curve in some way such as swiming, traction : up side down, and Brace TLSO.

My docter told that i should wore brace for 3 months and then got evaluation, if success i can still wore brace but if fail i wont wear brace anymore.

My brace is hot, rigid and have pressure on it, and i just wear at night about 7/8 hours (it supposed to be 23h/d), so i wonder , because i wore just 7/8 h/dy maybe cant reduce my curve. But i still try to experience.

when I got scoliosis at 12 yo (but dont know the degree), then 21 yo my scoliosis lower was 25 degree, and at 26 yo : upper/chast 22,5 degree and lower 30degree and now my upper/chast 22 degree and lower 32 degree.

so my conclusion above at 21 yo, my bone still growth a little bit because of that i got my upper/chast 22.5 degree.

I still hope that at my age 27 yo almost 28 yo i can still a litte bit reduce my curve ( mybe a little bit funny to hear about that, but mm i try )

Sometimes i confuse in exray 22.5 but they write 22 degree. But i read that mistake was common.

[LindaRacine]

Grace....

I know you want to believe in this treatment. I can't say it more bluntly than this... it is not going to permanently reduce your curve, regardless if you have male or female hormones. The brace may temporarily reduce your curve, but as soon as the brace treatment is stopped, your curve will return to close to its original degree.

If you're in physical pain, you may find chiropractic or other alternative treatment helps, but it will not reduce your curve permanently. Since you're already skeletally mature, you have very little need to worry that your curve will ever increase.

--Linda

[sweetness514]

I wore the Boston brace, wich didn't show unless someone touched me or looked closely but it hurt like hell and I HATED that piece of plastic-not to call it something else :cool: Anyways bad memories, especially all the teasing and sometimes physical abuse from others so I won't continue on the subject, except that I don't regret wearing it as I can at least have no regrets and wonder, even if I have tried any wich way possible to prevent surgery. Being fused is not natural, and I preferred being flexible, but oh well.

My friend had the Milwaukee brace, and she got teased even more than me, since it shows.

[mocity]

I wore the Milwaukee brace too. Thanks, I was just curious. The teasing was horrible. Anyway, I have had the fusion and have the rods/hooks and doing pretty well. As I get older I am having some back/leg pain and much more stiffness but still participate in aerobics and stuff so I guess I am doing ok. My back pain went to almost nothing after I recovered from the surgery. When I wore the brace I was in pain most of the time. I have scars under my arms from the bar that we around under the arms.

[LindaRacine]

Not really

n the world of the internet, .com is the cheapest web site space to buy. Many .Com's are even free. What you have to be careful of is that 'anyone' out there could get some space.......doesn't necessarily mean that it's right. In terms of university referencing it is considered the 'least reputable' and have to be treated with much caution.

.Org come's next. These one's always cost, and cost more than a .com. I think there's certain criteria/rules you have to meet for one, but I'm not sure. .org's are considered to be more reputable for university referencing than .com. They are usually organisations, associations, charities etc

Alison

This didn't make any sense to me, so I did a little research. .ORG domains were originally reserved for non-profits, but since there is no one policing the practice, anyone can get a .ORG domain.

Anyway, according to http://www.register.com, .COM domains are $35/year and .ORG domains are $149 for 5 years (or $29.80/year).

--Linda

[Grace]

Dear friends,

What is . com mean???

[Grace]

Dear friends,

What is . com mean??? and Linda .... do u think Curvemenders is trusted website????

[LindaRacine]

Grace...

We were talking about web site designations (like www.spineuniverse.com).

I do not think CurveMenders or any other website that advertises that they can reduce scoliosis curves can be trusted. I know you really want something, and I suspect that nothing we say will keep you from getting taken, but adult scoliosis curves cannot permanently be reduced by anything other than surgery (and not even that is guaranteed). If you really want to try something, I'd encourage you to try yoga. Try http://www.yogaforscoliosis.com.

--Linda

[Grace]

Dear sweetness 514,


What kind of brace do u wear???..... it's TLSO brace???

And after you wear brace, Are your curve reduce???


Thanks

[Grace]

Dear Linda,

making your muscles atrophy.... >>> Is muscless atrophy danger for our life???....

Can i wear brace, also swimming or hanging up side down to relax my muscless or lubricate musculess madicine???

[SandyC]

Grace,
muscle atrophy just means that the muscles lose stregthn because of the lack of use. For instance you want to keep your abdominal (stomach) muscles strong so that the strain on your back is less.

No you can not go swimming with a TLSO brace.
Yes, if you feel that hanging upside down makes you feel better, I suppose you can.
I'm not sure of what kind of "medicine" you are talking about "luburcating muscles"

Perhaps you need to talk to your doctor about your fears concerning your scolosis.

[sweetness514]

Dear sweetness 514,


What kind of brace do u wear???..... it's TLSO brace???

And after you wear brace, Are your curve reduce???


Thanks

Grace, I did wear a brace for four years but that was from age 13 to about 17, as wearing a brace when you're an adult does not reduce the curve, it would be useless. Even when I wore mine in those tennage years, it didn't stop the progression, and I don't even know if it made it progress more slowly, although I hoped it would. And wearing a brace for pain will make your abdominal muscles weak and that will not help with back pain, it can only make it worse.

[Grace]

Dear friends,


I appriciated your opinion about brace.


I wanna to experiance, now i try to use brace and it almost 2 weeks i guess, at least more than 1 week i wear brace Tlso. I use my brace sometime 23 hours.

when i opened /out my brace 2 times 12 hours, i saw my curve is less than before but duno the degree. But i still wanna to wear my brace for 3 months.

my curve out brace are upper 22 * and lower 32 * when in brace are 14 * and 19 *, and if success i wanna get 10 *both curve.

For not weak my mucle, i exercise twice a day. moring and evening. (hang up, hang upside down, traction, sometimes swimming ( more or less than10 round) , and more exercise, all for only less than one hour

[Grace]

Dear friends,


I appriciated your opinion about brace.


I wanna to experiance, now i try to use brace and it almost 2 weeks i guess, at least more than 1 week i wear brace Tlso. I use my brace sometime 23 hours.

when i opened /out my brace 2 times 12 hours, i saw my curve is less than before but duno the degree. But i still wanna to wear my brace for 3 months.

my curve out brace are upper 22 * and lower 32 * when in brace are 14 * and 19 *, and if success i wanna get 10 *both curve.

For not weak my mucle, i exercise twice a day. moring and evening. (hang up, hang upside down, traction, sometimes swimming ( more or less than10 round) , and more exercise, all for only less than one hour

note: iam skeletally mature ( 27 almost 28 )...its kind silly to read but... i just wanna to try.

[mocity]

Grace,

Are you going to a doctor that has put you in this brace even though you are 28 years old? If so, I would ask him for some documentation that shows where this has worked for people after they are "Mature".

[Scoliotic]

When i was in my doctor he told me that its to late for brace(im 28y old) and if i wear brace it could even do harm. Brace schould be used to max 17-18y when you still growing and it doesn't reduce scoliosis , only slow down progresion :(.

[mocity]

I was told that braces are only good while you are still maturing skeletally. I was also told that (in girls) this is usually 2 years after they begin menstating so the age would be a little different in everyone.

[Grace]

Dear Mocity,



But she dont have a email. But i can ask her

Actually, My doc orthopaedy said i used to wear corslet, But when i went to physiotrapy, i prefered use Tlso Brace and i didnt know that Tlso brace was hard to wear and just for growth children
doctor from pyisiotrapy allowed me to use Tlso brace and she said that corslet cannt hold my curve form getting worse. And she said that if luck maybe tlso can correct a little bit degree. But Tlso can hold my curve form getting worse.

[SandyC]

Grace,
Since your bone are mature and your curves are very small (22/32), where is your fear of the curvature getting worse coming from? The chance of your curves from getting worse are small. You could cut your hand peeling an orange, get an infection and have your arm cut off due to gangrene, but that can't stop you from peeling oranges. My point is that if your doc told you that your curves MIGHT get worse, and I bet he also said the chance of that happening is slim. So getting a tlso or any other brace to stop what may or may not happen is not good for you. The better idea is to check on your curves by having an X-ray every year to see if there is any progression, then if there is movement of your curves, that would be the time to do something.
Good luck to you and I really hope that you can come to terms with your sense of panic and the need to DO SOMETHING that may do more harm than good