can you get into your Boston brace without help?

[AngieW]

From the posts I've read, it sounds like most of you can put your brace on without help. Does your brace have the buckles in the front or the back?

My dd's brace buckles at the back. She can take it off without help, and she can thread the straps through without help (takes a long time though), but she can't tighten the straps to where they need to be herself.

Is there some trick to it? I wouldn't think it would be possible to buckle yourself into a brace that buckles in the back.

[~ScoliosisGurl~]

Yeah, I know how to do it by myself. I have the buckles in the back, and they are elastic. Sometimes it hurts my arms, but I just get the buckle and pull it. For me there is no trick.

[chic xx chic]

i can put it on and buckle it. but for the back its hard for me to get the 1st 2 on the line exactly.. but for the most part i can do it.

[Divagirl13]

I have a brace with the straps in the back. The first few weeks I had my mom tighten it because I was still getting used to it, but by now, I can really do it by myself. I think it is just a matter of getting used to it.

[AngieW]

My dd has only had the brace for a few weeks. Maybe more time is all she needs. Since we homeschool, it's not a problem for me to help her into it, but it would be nice for her to be able to do it herself.

[karen2447]

My daughter is 10-1/2. She wears a Boston Brace and has a curve of 33/29. Her brace has three velcro straps across the back. She can take off the brace by herself and put in on by herself. But, she needs assistance to tighten the straps.

The school nurse helps her after gym class. At first she was embarassed, but she's really quick at getting the brace on and the nurse just tightens the straps for her.

Karen

[Cina2005]

I know i'm old for this secton because i'm 20

I had a Boston brace but it had 3 straps on the back. I couldnt do the straps up on my own so i had my mum do them up for me, but i could undo them on my own when i wanted to take the brace off.

[drummergrl]

I used to have to pull as hard as I could and then check in with a mirror to see if I made it. Then I would just pull extra to get to the lines if need be. Since I've had a brace so long I can do it on just feel alone, but it takes a while to get there. Good luck!

Oh, and I just want to add this. If your daughter makes it clear that she wants to do it herself, give her every opportunity to try. Getting a brace makes you (or at least me!) feel helpless in so many ways, so in a way, being able to do it herself at least gives her some control back. Obviously if she isn't making it the mark you need to adjust it, but let her try. That's the best thing you can do!

[Sahare]

I wore a boston brace, which had 2 straps in the back. I was able to take it off by myself and buckle it myself. When doing at first it myself it was harder to get the top strap, but as time went on i got better at it and could do it all by myself pretty quickly. Mostly it's practice to get the straps right, and it also takes a fair bit of strange arm bending. Just give her time to try to do it her self, like drummergrl said, the brace can make you feel pretty helpless.

[AngieW]

It's been a while since my original post.

We made a huge discovery. It's probably something that the rest of you figured out pretty quickly, but we just figured it out two weeks ago and it's made life much easier.

My dd wasn't able to use the bathroom without taking the brace off. Then she needed my help to get back into it afterwards. The brace was going on and off many times each day.

She figured out that she only needed to undo the bottom strap. That's one that she has been able to manage on her own from the beginning. Now she only needs my help when she's taken it off all the way and that's only 1x/day.