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  • Traveling w/ Boston Brace...

    My daughter Becca (11) just got her brace on the 13th. We are still breaking into it. We ventured out the other day for the first time while in the brace. We have a 05 Dodge Grand Caravan and she was in tears on our trip to walmart. She couldn't sit up because the bottom front of the brace was digging into her thighs because of the way the seat is. We even tried some pillows to help support and lift up her bottom and it didn't help. Then she figured she could recline in the seat and that was fine until we were underway. All the vibration and bumping was just painful on her back, she just couldn't get comfortable. I just don't know what to do to get her comfortable to riding with the brace on.

    Plus I'm worried about our trip in October. We are flying to AZ from TX (a 3 hour flight). How are we suppose to handle this? The Drs want her to wear her brace 20-22 hours a day.

    If anyone has any tips or suggestions I would LOVE to hear them. Do I need to make a call to the ortho to see if they can shave some of the brace off the bottom front so she has more lap room????

    TIA!
    Kelly
    Mom to Becca (11), Mikey (8) and Tommy (3)
    Becca started wearing boston brace 8/13/08
    38* curve out of brace

  • #2
    My daughter has been wearing a brace 23 hours a day for almost 4 months now. She sometimes has trouble getting comfortable in the car but usually only on long rides. We just stop and take breaks more often. The brace should not be cutting into her legs though. Check if she is wearing it correctly and otherwise have it shaved. Our brace man shaved hers down after it was made while we were there. That way she could tell him where it was hurting her. My daughter turns 11 in November and I have a 7 year old and 3 year old boy. If you don't mind me asking, how old was your daughter when she was diagnosed with scoliosis and how fast is her curve progressing. I am just trying to compare notes with someone in a similar situation. My daughter curve doubled in the last year and we are now facing surgery (there is more about that in my past posts) I am wondering what your doctor has said about surgery, when they consider it the best treatment, etc.

    smileyskl


    I am getting my daughter on the spinekids site so she can talk to others her age who have scoliosis. Maybe they she can talk to your daughter.
    Last edited by smileyskl; 08-18-2008, 03:13 PM.

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    • #3
      Kelly--

      I think having the orthosis maker shave the brace down is the answer. My son's brace was shaved down on the front bottom when it was made to make sitting easier, as Smileysky described.

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      • #4
        Kelly,
        The first time my daughter flew with her back brace she wore the brace. TSA took her to a back room and put some type of fluid on her brace. I was so angry! Now we put the brace in a pillow case and let it go through security and she puts it back on in the bathroom. They don't say a word. Hope that helps.
        Becky

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        • #5
          My son wore a TLSO brace for over 3 years and it never hurt his thighs. You should definitely see the orthotist ASAP to trim any areas that are bothering your daughter. She's supposed to be able to wear it relatively comfortably almost anywhere and certainly in the car. I have a similar minivan and it was always okay for him to ride in.

          Good luck. I'm sure you can get the brace to be more tolerable for your daughter.
          Laurie

          Mother of Alexander & Zachary:
          Alex is 16 years old and in the 11th grade. He has congenital scoliosis due to a hemivertebrae at T10. Wore a TLSO brace for 3 1/2 years. Pre-op curves were T45 & L65; curves post-op are approx. T31 & L34. Had a posterior spinal fusion from T8 to L3 on 7/12/07 at age 12. Doing great now in so many ways, but still working on improving posture.
          Zach is 13 years old and very energetic.

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          • #6
            This is for momw/scolio:
            Why did the TSA put liquid on your daughter's brace? And what was it? We travel within the US and internationally and never had an issue in the last 6 years.
            Emily

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            • #7
              Thank you everyone for your replies. I DID call the Ortho today and told him what was going on. I "think" I am putting her brace on correctly, it is the only position that seems to get the straps tightened where they need to be without her having pain or too much discomfort. When she sits in a harder or flat seated chair she is fine. It is only in chairs where your bottom would be lower than your lap where she has the problem. The Ortho was very understanding and said that he could see her tomorrow late morning. So hopefully we will get this figured out SOON! I will also demonstrate HOW we put the brace on to make sure we ARE doing it right. Now that I think back at it I think it was weird that they didn't have me do that at the office, they only had me practice strapping her up after they had already gotten her into the brace. Hmmm...

              Thanks again everyone!

              Smileyskl I sent you a PM
              Kelly
              Mom to Becca (11), Mikey (8) and Tommy (3)
              Becca started wearing boston brace 8/13/08
              38* curve out of brace

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I called the ortho and he was very accommodating and offered to see us the very next morning. So he did shave some off the bottom front and flared out the top front a little. After we left we tried getting in the van again and she was still complaining of being uncomfortable and pain. This time on her chest. So I loosened her brace and she was able to ride it all the way home. Just over 1 hour drive. So I figured we can loosen her brace before we get in the van and then tighten back up when we get to our destination. Though everytime I go to loosen it, I don't loosen it as much as I did the previous time. Not known by her though. I think a lot of it might just be psychological.

                Anyways... Thanks again for all your suggestions and comments!

                Oh I forgot to mention. She didn't wear her brace all the way to go see the ortho so when we got there she didn't have it on. So he stepped out of the room so she could change into her sock and so I could put her brace on her. He came back in and looked it over and said that I am putting it on perfectly! So... I guess that isn't a problem and now feel confident in how it is going on and I feel confident that she knows what the brace feels like when it is on correctly. She does a lot of the adjusting herself once I wrap it around her before I strap it up.
                Last edited by springdayzee; 08-21-2008, 10:58 AM.
                Kelly
                Mom to Becca (11), Mikey (8) and Tommy (3)
                Becca started wearing boston brace 8/13/08
                38* curve out of brace

                Comment


                • #9
                  at the beginning of my brace wearing, i never experienced that. my brace DID feel wierd, but never to the point that i was in tears. maybe she can't adjust to it as well. i would say, ask the ortho, to either shave where it hurts, or put extra padding there, so it isn't as rough on her. also, she WILL get used to the brace, and she migt say she won't, (as i did for 3 days) but she will. it may not seem like it now. can you send me a picture of her brace in a private message, maybe??? i want to know if it is the same shape as mine. (they make the boston brace in lots of different shapes)
                  thanks! thouhgts and prayers, ~val~
                  Valerie

                  Age: 18
                  Hi, my name is Valerie, but you can call me Val or V.
                  I wore a Boston Brace from 2007-2010
                  My curves were 30 and 31
                  I now have only a single curve which stands at 35 degrees.
                  I owe all of my blessings to The Lord!
                  I am very thankful with where my spine is at right now.
                  I want to meet some new people on this forum!
                  Don't be shy...
                  Feel free to message me if you would like to chat!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by springdayzee View Post
                    Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I called the ortho and he was very accommodating and offered to see us the very next morning. So he did shave some off the bottom front and flared out the top front a little. After we left we tried getting in the van again and she was still complaining of being uncomfortable and pain. This time on her chest. So I loosened her brace and she was able to ride it all the way home. Just over 1 hour drive. So I figured we can loosen her brace before we get in the van and then tighten back up when we get to our destination. Though everytime I go to loosen it, I don't loosen it as much as I did the previous time. Not known by her though. I think a lot of it might just be psychological.

                    Anyways... Thanks again for all your suggestions and comments!

                    Oh I forgot to mention. She didn't wear her brace all the way to go see the ortho so when we got there she didn't have it on. So he stepped out of the room so she could change into her sock and so I could put her brace on her. He came back in and looked it over and said that I am putting it on perfectly! So... I guess that isn't a problem and now feel confident in how it is going on and I feel confident that she knows what the brace feels like when it is on correctly. She does a lot of the adjusting herself once I wrap it around her before I strap it up.




                    Hi Kelly,

                    Don't worry, she WILL get used to it. My daughter and I went through that whole saga a few times during the first month or so. Sometimes it would get pretty dramatic. (crying, why me?, etc.) but I just calmly reminded her why we were doing it.(to try to avoid surgery) She is completely used to it now. She doesn't like it and and still complains sometimes but not too much. I agree with you, I think ALOT of it is psychological. Although I am quite certain I would NOT want to wear one either. Who can blame them really??


                    Smileyskl

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