brace research

[sparklegirl59]

how many of you have had any of these kinds of braces? i just don't know much about some of these braces. i'm doing research to find out the MOST of any brace i can. (it's kind of a goal to work on for summer.) my goal is to get info on ALL of these braces. (i'm gonna need SOMETHING besides our summer vaca to do!) plz tell me all the info you can on any of these braces. all help is very much appreciated!

• milwaukee brace
• cheneau brace
• providence brace
• boston brace
• spinecor brace
• charleston brace

[rtremb]

Hi Sparklegirl:

My daughter wore a Charleston night time bending back brace. This is custom made out of hard plastic and bends your back into a very straight position. You can't really stand up in it. It is worn for 8 hours each night while sleeping. This is how this brace is made. First the patient puts on two cotton stocking-like tubes which hug the body really tightly. Then the patient is laid down face up on a hard table with the body/spine placed as straight as possible then a body cast is molded out of plaster (same as when you break am arm or leg). The cast covers the area from underneath the arms to the bottom of the hips. The cast hardens (it gets quite hot while it is hardening) and then the patient is turned over and the same is done on the patient's back. Again it is left to harden - then the cast is cut off by cutting the second of the two cotton body stockings. One body stocking is left on so the patient isn't left naked!! Then from this plaster cast the orthotist creates the custom made brace out of hard plastic. The orthotist usually lets the patient chose a colour or pattern for the brace and sometimes even applies some decals (like a baseball or a flower or whatever).

My daughter also wore the Spinecor brace. The website for information on this is: http://www.spinecorporation.com/English/index.htm

There was an article about braces in MacLeans magazine too this past January called "Amazing Brace". My daughter was in it. The website to see this is: http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?c...98&source=srch

Hope this helps your research. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Ruth

[Pooka1]

My daughter has a Charleston night-time bending brace but they didn't make a body cast. She wore a body stocking and the orthotist took several measurements on her body.

It's been a while since I read that MacLeans article but my recollection is that it is factually incorrect in some statements. The peer-reviewed literature has yet to catch up with some of the claims in that article.

To Val and others, do NOT believe everything you read and especially don't necessarily believe anything in a magazine like that. They don't have qualified surgeons reviewing the material.

sharon

[Pooka1]

Okay I have had a chance to re-read the Macleans article.

Val, this is good chance for you to hone your research skills.

Here are some questions that might help you figure out what to think about the information in the article:

1. Is the magazine a medical journal where other surgeon's check what is written or is it a general magazine with articles written by non-doctors that are unreviewed by doctors? If the later then you have no guarantee ANY of it is factually correct. NONE. They are just trying to sell magazines, not advance the science of scoliosis treatment.

2. Is the main story line about an adult or a child?

3. Does he have large or small curve(s)?

4. Is he worried about curve progression or pain?

5. What is the relationship between ONE adult who found some pain relief from a certain brace and ONE 11-year old child who wants to prevent curve progression? (Hint: There might be NO connection... always consider that.)

6. Is his plan to wear the brace for the rest of his life? Does that sound reasonable?

7. What do you think of a doctor who mists up and who is also trying to sell you something?

8. Does the medical journal literature support what these doctors are claiming?

Skepticism and demanding evidence for claims are the ONLY thing standing between you and getting fooled by counterfactual nonsense.

Good luck.

sharon

[sparklegirl59]

thanx guys

thank you ruth, and thank you sharon. this was some help to me and also that's why we're here on the site, to help each other out, and to make friends with ppl who have the same problems as you. this is my fave saying: "WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER" and it's true. thanx again guys for your suggestions and thoughtfulness. thoughts and prayers, ~*val*~

[TraumaScoli]

The Amazing Brace

I have not posted for a while in this forum, I am old to be wearing the brace I wear, but I wear it for both pain relief and curve progression stoppage. (Thats a long wording). I have been wearing this brace for about 2 years now and have gotten pretty used to it. It has two upright metal bars in the back and one in the front. It goes to my chin to my waiste. There are many parts that are contected to these three bars. One goes over my left shoulder and the other my right hip. (This keeps my spine from twisting and making it hard to breathe. Then there is the large plastic bottom that encases my lumbar area down to my bottox. I have to wear this because surgery is not an option and I am waiting for an option. I am sure one will come. For now I wear it for 23 hours a day. Without this I could not breathe well and my legs often get numb or paralyzed.

Other braces I have worn are a Cheneu brace and a Boston brace when I was younger.

I hope this helps, I do believe things happen for a reason and Scoli and this brace are just another thing that makes "me" me. I hate it sometimes but most of the time I forget its there. We are "in this together"

stay strong

Trauma

[sparklegirl59]

God will help us

yes, some help and thanx. we're all in this together and God helps us too. you just have to keep your faith strong in Him and pray every day and just trust Him. thoughts and prayers, ~*val*~