spinecor

[BETall]

Hi Betall,

I see the benefits of Schroth and the Cheneau brace however it's not something that's readily available to people here in North America unless they are willing to take an international flight to Spain or Germany. Ruth lives in a rural town in Southern Ontario and cannot do a transcontinental flight half way across the globe for regular treatments.

There are several dedicated Physical Therapist practicioners in this United States Schroth certified. You can go to the NSF www.scoliosis.org.

[Celia]

Thanks Betall, I forgot about that list.

[gwenk]

Hi Jill

We have Horizon Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of NJ. It is a pretty good plan for the most part. I wish you luck with yours. Maybe the plans are different.

Take Care

Gwen

[WNCmom]

new spinecor

We are now proud owners of a SpineCor brace. Our appointment in Atlanta today went well, with both kinds of news.

At the end of August, x-rays at the pediatric orthopaedist showed my son Sidney's T curve at 40, with a L24 compensating curve (out of brace). He is 12. He had been in a Boston brace for 6 months, and the curve had progressed at least 5 degrees during that time, the doc said. Soon after, we decided to go with the SpineCor, which meant being out of brace for three weeks to give his muscles a chance to "wake up."

Dr. Ouellette, a chiropractor in Atlanta, took new x-rays and measured the curves at T48, L34. Then he went back and measured the orthopaedist's x-rays from August, which I had brought along. He calculated the curves then were T44.5 and L31. He believes the original August measurement had measured from the wrong vertebra. So we are starting out from a greater curve than we thought. When I asked him if the curve had progressed in 6 weeks or if the increase was a result of weak muscles and more time out of brace, he said he couldn't say.

So that was an unpleasant surprise. The good news, though, is that the second x-ray today, taken in the new brace, showed a curve reduction of 7 degrees in the T curve (less in the compensatory L curve), which he was quite happy with--a good start.

Overall, we were pleased with the treatment and attention we received, quite different from UNC Hospital, where on many days it has felt like an assembly line. This appointment lasted over two hours. We felt Dr. Ouellette was very honest with us. When we got the brace, we got an extra set of crotch straps at the outset; this is good, because before we left Atlanta the snap came off one of the originals on the brace, and we had to use an extra to replace it.

Sidney wore the brace 6 hours today without a single complaint--and he is not one to suffer silently. Dr. Ouellette told us the chance of avoiding surgery is 50/50, but we are hopeful at this point, praying, crossing our fingers, and everything else. What else can we do?

I know this is a long post, but I thought I'd share.

Mary Ellen

[MATJESNIC]

Mary Ellen,

I wish for you what you wish for Sydney. I hope the Spinecor prevents him from having to get surgery. Good luck with everything.

[rtremb]

Mary Ellen:
We are going to Montreal to get a Spinecor brace for our daughter Esme on October 23rd. Her thoracic curve is close in size to your son's so it will be interesting to see what happens with their curves in the Spinecor.
What style of Spinecor does your son have? I noticed on the website there are three different pictures of the brace - one with a cross across the chest, one with one strap across the chest and one with no straps across the chest. Maybe there are other designs too - I don't know??

[WNCmom]

Melissa--Thanks for your good wishes. I'm glad to hear Nicole is continuing to do well.

Ruth--My understanding is that there is one Spinecor brace, and it is fitted differently depending on the type of curve. Sidney's curve is a right thoracic type 3, and his brace has two straps crossing in the front. Whatever Esme's looks like will depend on the type of curve. I look forward to hearing how your appointment goes on the 23rd.

Mary Ellen

[Celia]

Ruth,

I read in another post that you saw a chiropractor by the name of dr. "H" in Peterborough???? This was the same chiro I took Deirdre to the day after I discovered her scoliosis and before going to her pediatrician (who was on vacation at the time) and was then referred to dr. Hedden. This chiropractor wanted to put weights on my 19 month old daughter's head and shoulders. She had a 60 degree curve at the time!!!!! He didn't want her to wear any kind of brace whatsoever and claimed to be a scoliosis specialist. In retrospect, I can see he didn't know the first thing. He kept referring to her scoliosis as congenital He called the house numerous times trying to convince me to go in for treatments. The last time he called was the day she went into her first cast.

Is he now doing the Pettibon and Spinecor combo????

[rtremb]

I would also find it bazarre to suggest putting weights on a 19 month old child!! I think there are big differences between treatment of scoliosis in a young baby and scoliosis in a teenager. You certainly did the right thing for your daughter.

I think this might be the same chiropractor. He is not combining Spinecor with Pettibon. (I don't know if Dr. Morningstar is either - just that he is wanting to be Spinecor certified.) It is my husband and I who decided we wanted to do this. We decided we wanted to make sure Dr. Rivard was okay with this combination which is why we asked asked him about putting the two together.

While we are following the Pettibon treatments with a chiropractor in Ottawa we still want Esme to be wearing a brace. Spinecor is our choice because she is only just outside the protocol, Dr. Rivard gave the Spinecor a 10-15% chance of benefit and we want her in a brace when she has a growth spurt. She can't wear her Charleston night braces because they cut off the circulation to her arm.

Dr. H wants us to go up to Peterborough again once we have the Spinecor because his treatment now includes a custom TLSO brace for four hours a day - part of this time while exercising. The custom TLSO is made to the apex of the thoracic curve and, we are told, will help to reduce the curve. We haven't decided yet whether to go to do this. I was just reading a new power point document written by Dr. H and being presented to chiropractors - I am hoping this will help us to decide what to do. It contains the newest ideas (!) ...... there is another chiro conference this weekend in Toronto to explain new treatments for curves over 30 degrees - our chiropractor will be attending. The Pettibon chiropractors have been travelling all over the world gathering scoliosis treatment ideas and are starting to implement the things they have learned (i.e., new exercises).

Our chiro in Ottawa can give Esme the other treatments like balance exercises, a little manipulation, massage, stretching. Esme does the at home wobble exercises, leg lifts (3:1 ratio), arm punches, a one pound head weight twice a day, neck traction and goes to sleep on a c-roll. These are making Esme feel better - less pain and more flexibility.

Sorry for the long post - trying to explain where we are at with this and not end up sounding like a fruitcake! We are just trying to do the best we can for Esme with limited options before us - we are not happy with the prospect of surgery - not only the short-term outlook but the long-term outlook too.

Ruth

[Celia]

..I think this might be the same chiropractor. He is not combining Spinecor with Pettibon. (I don't know if Dr. Morningstar is either - just that he is wanting to be Spinecor certified.) It is my husband and I who decided we wanted to do this. We decided we wanted to make sure Dr. Rivard was okay with this combination which is why we asked asked him about putting the two together.

Oh, I was under the impression in the "Spinecor Candidates Needed" thread that the new spinecor provider was using the Pettibon method with the Spinecor and Dr. Rivard was in total agreement with this. I was literally floored! The Spinecorporation website specifically states that no other physiotherapy program should be used and it may be a contraindication. I've read of some chiropractors wanting to integrate vestibular testing, manual adjustments, vitamins etc. etc with the brace and this is not the practice in Montreal.

I understand why you would want to try additional therapies given your daughter's circumstances.

[rtremb]

Celia:

The chiro conference in Toronto this weekend is being held by Dr. Morningstar. Our chiropractor is going to ask whether he is combining Spinecor with Pettibon or is just getting certified to provide Spinecor braces. I will post his response on here if we get an answer to the question.

We also read on the Spinecor sites that no other therapy should be used while using the Spinecor brace which is why we wanted to check with Dr. Rivard if it was okay to do Pettibon with Spinecor.

I finished reading Dr. H's power point document last night. The new idea is to have the patient wear a modified TLSO brace during exercises/weighting in the morning, take it off, go to school, come home, do exercises with brace and keep the brace on until bedtime then take it off again to sleep. Don't know whether I can agree to this since we have been trying to avoid hard bracing so we don't weaken Esme's back muscles! There is also some new treatment with a vibrating table which I am hesitant about and think we should know more about any potential damage from this kind of vibration on the spine.

Ruth

[Celia]

The chiro conference in Toronto this weekend is being held by Dr. Morningstar. Our chiropractor is going to ask whether he is combining Spinecor with Pettibon or is just getting certified to provide Spinecor braces. I will post his response on here if we get an answer to the question.

Theses chiropractors are having a convention to see if they can combine the spinecor with pettibon??? What a joke! Should chiropractors be able to make arbitrary decisions that will combine questionable unproven therapies with the spinecor and charge patients for it? Patients should have a choice whether they want to go along with these bogus therapies and not!

In addition to your other concerns, your daughter should not be wearing a 1 pound weight on her head! Traction and hanging from monkey bars would be a good start.

[rtremb]

Celia:
The conference is to discuss new chiropractic treatments for scoliosis curves over 30 degrees. We asked our chiro to ask Dr. Morningstar if he is combining Spinecor with Pettibon.
Just wondering - why are you against the wearing of head weights?
Ruth

[Celia]

One of the theories of scoliosis progression is the Vicious Cycle Hypothesis and it was put forward by an orthopaedic surgeon, dr. Stokes. In part it states that asymmetric loading on vertebral growth plates will cause further progression. By putting weights on your daughter's head and shoulders, you're adding extra gravity/load on the spine which will cause the curve to progress even more.

[rtremb]

Celia:
Do you have a web-link where we can read about this study/theory as it relates to head weighting?
Thanks. Ruth