Tweet
Since this forum always seems to descend into a negative attitude towards scoliosis bracing and its effectiveness, I wanted to update my daughter’s success with bracing to help those parents who may come away from this forum with a negative view on the benefits of bracing.
My daughter is now at Risser 4 and her orthopedist thinks she will probably be finished with bracing at her next appointment in six months time. The orthopedist stated that her curve should have no effect whatsoever on her in the future, including if she pursues professional ballet as a career. He told us that it has been proven that those who continue to have curves that increase in size after completion of bracing were not finished growing. It’s important to make sure all growth has ceased prior to discontinuing the brace. He also stated that the odds of her progressing throughout her life are very, very low and unlikely for those with curves in the thirties at maturity. He said she might revert to the 35 degrees that she was diagnosed with, but not necessarily.
My daughter has been completely compliant with her bracing, which is a big factor in whether bracing works or doesn’t. She has missed only one night without a brace except for the night before x-rays, when she went to a slumber party recently after she was through most of her major growth spurt. She has taken her brace with her when she went to other sleepovers in the past three years. It was not a problem at all to her friends to have her bring it and wear it at her friends’ houses. She was fortunate that she has been able to complete her bracing utilizing night time bracing alone, as she is thin and has a very flexible spine.
For anyone who is bracing, I would highly recommend some sort of exercise and stretching of the back to be done in conjunction with it (ballet, torso rotation, side shift exercises and perhaps yoga, etc.). I truly believe that it helps in the effectiveness of the bracing. In addition, it may have helped with eliminating all visible traces of rotation on my daughter during this bracing period (which is pretty unusual). She has taken ballet six days a week during that time. Of course, the reduction in rotation could be due to other influences such as medication she was on, but I am inclined to believe it was the stretching of ligaments along the spine during the growth process due to all the stretching of the back in ballet. This has some credibility due to research done by Dr. Douglas Kiester at the University of California at Irvine and the seeming success of other research into side shift and torso rotation exercises, although it remains to be proven.
For those new to the forum, my daughter was diagnosed with a 35 degree curve at twelve years of age, one year pre-menarchal, and rapidly increasing with her adolescent growth spurt. She would have progressed to surgery very rapidly had she not been seen quickly by an orthopedic surgeon who prescribed bracing for her. She has grown about four inches since she was diagnosed.
I am so very grateful to the orthopedic surgeons and the orthotists who treated my daughter and helped her with such a successful outcome to her three years of bracing.
If you are willing to support your child through bracing and your child is willing to comply, are able to get a good correction in the braces used, replace braces that are outgrown, and make sure straps and Velcro remain in good working order, bracing can be very beneficial (although not effective in all cases). In addition, I would personally be very cautious and hesitant to use a flexible brace during the tremendous growth of the adolescent growth spurt.
My daughter is now at Risser 4 and her orthopedist thinks she will probably be finished with bracing at her next appointment in six months time. The orthopedist stated that her curve should have no effect whatsoever on her in the future, including if she pursues professional ballet as a career. He told us that it has been proven that those who continue to have curves that increase in size after completion of bracing were not finished growing. It’s important to make sure all growth has ceased prior to discontinuing the brace. He also stated that the odds of her progressing throughout her life are very, very low and unlikely for those with curves in the thirties at maturity. He said she might revert to the 35 degrees that she was diagnosed with, but not necessarily.
My daughter has been completely compliant with her bracing, which is a big factor in whether bracing works or doesn’t. She has missed only one night without a brace except for the night before x-rays, when she went to a slumber party recently after she was through most of her major growth spurt. She has taken her brace with her when she went to other sleepovers in the past three years. It was not a problem at all to her friends to have her bring it and wear it at her friends’ houses. She was fortunate that she has been able to complete her bracing utilizing night time bracing alone, as she is thin and has a very flexible spine.
For anyone who is bracing, I would highly recommend some sort of exercise and stretching of the back to be done in conjunction with it (ballet, torso rotation, side shift exercises and perhaps yoga, etc.). I truly believe that it helps in the effectiveness of the bracing. In addition, it may have helped with eliminating all visible traces of rotation on my daughter during this bracing period (which is pretty unusual). She has taken ballet six days a week during that time. Of course, the reduction in rotation could be due to other influences such as medication she was on, but I am inclined to believe it was the stretching of ligaments along the spine during the growth process due to all the stretching of the back in ballet. This has some credibility due to research done by Dr. Douglas Kiester at the University of California at Irvine and the seeming success of other research into side shift and torso rotation exercises, although it remains to be proven.
For those new to the forum, my daughter was diagnosed with a 35 degree curve at twelve years of age, one year pre-menarchal, and rapidly increasing with her adolescent growth spurt. She would have progressed to surgery very rapidly had she not been seen quickly by an orthopedic surgeon who prescribed bracing for her. She has grown about four inches since she was diagnosed.
I am so very grateful to the orthopedic surgeons and the orthotists who treated my daughter and helped her with such a successful outcome to her three years of bracing.
If you are willing to support your child through bracing and your child is willing to comply, are able to get a good correction in the braces used, replace braces that are outgrown, and make sure straps and Velcro remain in good working order, bracing can be very beneficial (although not effective in all cases). In addition, I would personally be very cautious and hesitant to use a flexible brace during the tremendous growth of the adolescent growth spurt.
Comment