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  • Copes brace?

    Hello everyone this is my first time posting on this site but i got a question..
    im a guy, 18, about 150 lbs. 5'7" and pretty muscular with 54 degree thoratic and 35 degree lumbar curvatures.
    everytime i do my 6 month check up at shriners in california they always tell me they'v never seen someone so athletic and muscular (im a wrestler) for having scoliosis.
    well iv been seeing one of my friends who is a chiropractor and he is helping me out free of charge and he recommended the dr. cope's dynamic air brace with stretching and other things of course, but what my question comes down to is:

    is it too late to at least get my curve reduced about 50 %?
    my spine is really loose and moves freely so the only thing really keeping it from straightening is my muscle imabalance... can any1 relate to me? and ill never result to surgery...
    Last edited by krazytyler; 04-24-2006, 02:59 AM.

  • #2
    Run away from the Copes brace. He is not really a doctor and has been arrested for insurance fraud and practicing medicine without a license. My daughter wore his brace for 2 years so we have personal experience. Check into the Spinecor brace - there is a thread about it on this forum. You will find their website if you search on Spinecor.

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    • #3
      I know hes not really a doctor, hes a orthopedist, he makes braces its a different field.. this is what my chiropractor is telling me and hes a friend and what he tells me is his opinion and his honest truth.
      so your daughter wore the brace for 2 years? what was her curvature? and what type?
      in my theory his brace would only work on someone who has scoliosis such as mine that is really loose, its just my muscles stopping it from staying in place... like i can stretch my back (54 + 34 curves) nearly straight, but cant hold it without support.

      i did look into the spinecore but it seems that it only works for minor curves.. im really optomistic though and open to just about anything.. except for surgery because im an athlete planning on competing in college and that wouldnt be possible if i had undergone surgery.

      THANKS FOR THE RESPONSE, i never find anyone to talk to about this other than my chiropractor... the scoliosis specialist i went to at shriners is very narrow minded which is frustrating..

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      • #4
        Lots of scoliosis patients can 'self correct' curve so their spine is strigher. That alone doesn't mean any form of brace will correct the curve. If according to your theory it's only your muscles that's causing your curve, a very rigorous PT regiment would probably work better than a brace.

        I'm assuiming you meant orthotist, orthopedist IS a MD.

        I'm sure your friend is really trying to help you out, but as a DC, the copes is basically the only scoliosis brace they have acess to 'prescribing'
        ..and regardless of if copes is really effective or not, the founder of the brace committed multiple fruad. Something is obvioiusly off there. Be cautious!
        30 something y.o.

        2003 - T45, L???
        2005 - T50, L31
        bunch of measurements between...

        2011 - T60, L32
        2013 - T68, L?

        Posterior Fusion Sept 2014 -- T3 - L3
        Post - op curve ~35


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        • #5
          I'm sure your chiro is trying to steer you in a good direction but I don't even know how you would get a Copes brace made, let alone serviced. My daughter started with his program 3 years ago when she was 12 1/2, curves were about 39 lumbar and 26 thorasic. Now they are in the mid 40's. Although his brace was state-of-the-art at one time, his treatment program was complex, time consuming and very expensive. Trust me, Copes may have had loftier goals at one time but now it is all about how much money he can charge. He prescribes numerous (at one time he presribed over 14) daily supplements without mentioning that this benefits him financially. He bills for tests he does not do and uses tests such as hair analysis that have not been proven to be accurate. I have this from personal information as well as knowing 3 other Copes patients.

          A rigid brace is only going to make your curve rigid and from what I have researched and read on this forum is not going to do anything for someone of your age. Spinecor has been bracing adults with the intent to lessen pain, stabilize the curve and perhaps get some reduction if the person is flexible. You mentioned Shriners in Ca.. If you live in the So. Ca. area, please call Dr.David Gorrie at (714) 544-9789. He used the Copes brace in the past with several patients and has since moved on to Spinecor. He could give you info on both systems and has been treating scoliosis for over 15 years. Hope this is helpful for whatever you decide to do.

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          • #6
            THANK YOU SO MUCH!

            lol and yes i meant orthotist.

            i really appreciate your information... i wish i would of found this site a long time ago. i will tell my chiropractor next visit about this and switch to the spinecor.. unless theres some other brace that would benefit me more. i also am goin to start PT soon, but im moving to so cal in about 2 months and i dont think there would be any scoliosis-specialists in my area right now. ill call that doctor tomorrow, again thanks a ton for the information.

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            • #7
              Krazy...

              let me know the area you are moving to and I could find a scoliosis specialist for you..i've acquired a bit of list during my search...so below Fresno, I should have a name...sor of lol...of course, Dr. Gorrie being one of them if you are moving to Tustin area as LA Tigner had mentioned...
              An important scientific innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents: it rarely happens that Saul becomes Paul. What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out, and that the growing generation is familiarised with the ideas from the beginning.

              Max Planck (the founder of Quantum Physics)

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