which brace is better for lower lumbar?

[mamandcrm]

It needs more study but I am not so sure bracing in JIS will be such a hot topic in the future if VBS pans out in a big way.

Sorry, I don't know how to pull a quote from a post properly. But I think this is very subjective. We chose bracing over VBS (we had a surgery date scheduled). One is not more right than the other, and it comes down to what is right for that child and family. Elective VBS surgery was not the right choice for us at that time. Maybe some day things will change, and we (and our child) will want to do it. But I don't think we made an unusual decision. For others, bracing is not the right choice, and the surgery is.

And I am aware of only one orthotist who describes himself as being the only one certified for RC. It is not Mr. Stikeleather.

[mariaf]

The last two posts and posters are right on the money with regard to there being no 'one size fits all' treatment that works for everyone.

I don't know if I would call VBS 'elective' surgery however. I guess technically it is, as are a lot of surgeries. One could, for example, live with pain or have a particular surgery.

I guess what I mean is that for my son, he was not even 6 years old with a 40 degree curve - he was most likely going to need SOME form of surgery to correct this at some point. We chose VBS not only to avoid a decade of full time bracing, but to avoid either growing rods or fusion. While I don't have a crystal ball to say whether or not he will ever require fusion, we have dodged the growing rod bullet for over 7 years now.

So I guess for us it was elective only in the sense that we chose one surgery over another.

[Pooka1]

It needs more study but I am not so sure bracing in JIS will be such a hot topic in the future if VBS pans out in a big way.

Sorry, I don't know how to pull a quote from a post properly. But I think this is very subjective. We chose bracing over VBS (we had a surgery date scheduled). One is not more right than the other, and it comes down to what is right for that child and family. Elective VBS surgery was not the right choice for us at that time. Maybe some day things will change, and we (and our child) will want to do it. But I don't think we made an unusual decision. For others, bracing is not the right choice, and the surgery is.

Well my statement is worse than subjective ... it is a lay spit in the wind unsupported by any evidence. :-)

I restricted the scenario to VBS panning out in a big way. By that I mean 95% or better of kids will avoid needing fusion through the adolescent growth spurt. I would extend that to avoiding surgery for life but the jury will necessarily be out on that for decades so I won't reference it.

So if the 95% turns out be the case then you compare that to the fusion rate of braced JIS cases. If it is much better than that for bracing then the choice of treatment will self select to virtually all VBS. It will become the standard of care if it beats the fusion rate during the growth spurt for bracing by a mile. The parents will make it the standard of care by their selection even if it isn't so designated.

What is the fusion rate for brace JIS cases by the way? And what is it for VBS?