rib pain under brace
Hi,
my daughter did have this same type of complaint on her lower rib and did end up developing a bone callous of sorts there...it was a painful, hard lump that only really showed when she put her arms up. But it took several months for the lump to show up, and she consistently complained about the area hurting prior to that.
It is possible in my mind that a localized irritation/excessive pressure point exists there. First step would be to remove the brace entirely and look at her skin in that area--is it red? If so, the brace is rubbing or pushing too hard here. Also, is she wearing a good and well-fitting brace shirt underneath? These help a lot with improved comfort for the skin.
I don't think a 2 lb weight gain would cause pain in such a specific area. The usual feeling of the brace being overall too tight is they feel like their ribs and stomach are being crushed, and that they can't take a deep breath. It is a different complaint than a localized area causing pain. The orthotist can sort it out for you.
I would definitely ask the orthotist to look at it as soon as possible. They are the experts on fitting the brace. The orthopedists seem to have little to no interest in seeing the child actually in the brace, as they leave that to the orthotist. The orthopedists seem most interested in x-rays and will want to see one in the brace.
Two words of advice about bracing: 1. please go back to the orthotist as often as necessary to get the brace as comfortable as possible. Don't ignore complaints about one specific area of the brace feeling uncomfortable or not right. Get it looked at right away. 2. Your daughter is the only one who can say whether or not the brace is comfortable. Even when they complain about not liking the brace in general, they know when one specific area is not right, and it is your job as her parent to listen and get it looked at.
I will share the following experience with my daughter's brace because I did not listen to her, and I still feel horrible about it to this day. We were driving home from visiting grandparents, a 3 hour drive. Leah had refused to wear her brace during the visit, so I told her she would wear it home in the car no matter what. At this point, even though she was only 6, we were having epic battles about her wearing the brace! She is a very stubborn kid. So I got her into the brace and we started driving home. 30 minutes up the freeway she starting complaining about the brace, and I told her too bad. I thought she was just complaining to complain. The complaints got worse until she was sobbing hysterically saying it hurt terribly, so I finally reached a rest stop we could pull into. I took off the brace and apparently when we put it on, it had pushed a deep vertical crease into her skin up in between the edges of the brace while the brace was tightened, and the fold was being painfully crushed and rubbed under the brace. It was cherry red and angry, and I felt like the worst mom in the entire world. The was the last time I did not listen to her about the brace hurting!
Best of luck--these early weeks of bracing are the worst. Things do settle down some after all the necessary adjustments are made to the brace, and the family falls into a routine that includes the brace. You and your daughter will get there.
p.s. I sent you a private message, it is in your notifications section.
Gayle, age 50
Oct 2010 fusion T8-sacrum w/ pelvic fixation
Feb 2012 lumbar revision for broken rods @ L2-3-4
Sept 2015 major lumbar A/P revision for broken rods @ L5-S1
mom of Leah, 15 y/o, Diagnosed '08 with 26* T JIS (age 6)
2010 VBS Dr Luhmann Shriners St Louis
2017 curves stable/skeletely mature
also mom of Torrey, 12 y/o son, 16* T, stable