spinecor

[MJB]

Thank you! I am so excited!!! I have wanted another child for soooo long, there will be 10 1/2 years between my children but it's ok, Halle is so thrilled!

I also hope they can get us in soon. I tried calling them today but got the voicemail and the administrators message said she wasn't in today. So I e-mailed them, to find out how long the wait might be. Hopefully they respond quickly.

[MJB]

One more question... does anyone who has a child in the Spinecor Brace notice any marks from the brace? Halle has had marks that look like bruises for nearly 2 years now... they are right below her hip bones, from the plastic of the brace digging in her skin. The skin is not broken but I guess it's damaged now... she calls them her bruises but bruises wouldn't last that long, even though that is exactly what they look like. Anyone else have anything like this? I am surprised that the doctors dont seem to have any advice for us with it.

[BellasMom]

oh yeah ... Bella has a big one - it's in a slightly different place though: on her side at a waist level approximately, where the straps are digging in

And of course, her skin is totally damaged and rough between her legs, where the leg straps are

[Pooka1]

I am pregnant right now with baby #2... I am so worried that this child will end up getting Scoliosis too... How many of you have had more than one child with Scoliosis?

DH's sister has mild Scoliosis and we think that it must have been hereditery and that's why Halle got it, his sister did not require any bracing though, only a 15 degree curve.

Congratulations on the impending arrival! You are so lucky!

The incidence of scoliosis in a sibling/sibling pair is about one third. That was determined from a meta analysis of all available twins studies (fraternal or dizygous twins are equivalent to any sibling/sibling pair) but it was still only about 70 pairs. For incidence of scoliosis...

"Concordance was 73% among monozygous twins and 36% among dizygous twins."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9306532

My monozygous (identical) twins both have scoliosis. They are clones of one another essentially.

[mariaf]

MJB,

Congratulations on the new baby on the way!!!

Try not to worry too much about scoliosis being hereditary - I didn't know the figure was one third (thanks, Sharon) but I would have probably said less than half the time - so yes, another child may have it, but they very well may not - and you'll have learned a lot and will be looking for the first signs of it so if it is the case, you'll catch it early.

I agree that I would be a "polite pest" and try to get that second opinion a bit sooner than two months - I find the "squeaky wheel" strategy often works

Good luck - and again, congrats!!

[MJB]

Thank so much Pooka and Maria! I am going to try and call the office again today because I didn't get an e-mail response yet.

[AILEA]

My daughter had to change from Spinecor to a rigid brace, Spinecor wasn’t working, and she was nearly 40º out of brace, but we had good results with the rigid one. If one brace doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean that No brace in the world is going to help.


Good luck and Congratulations!!!

[CAmomof2]

Thanks Ailea for the encouraging words and congratulations to MJB !!

[MJB]

Very Surprised....

Dr. Rivard left me a voicemail and in the voicemail he said that he heard about this board and the conversation I have had and comments I have made from another patient that called him to tell him about it because the patient did not agree with what I was saying....

Honestly, if someone has any issue with something I am saying, please be mature enough to confront me on it and do not go to our Doctor about it and try to make me look bad. I am a mother that is very stressed out right now, with good reason, on top of that I am pregnant and hormonal, so it makes my emotions even stronger right now... If I want to vent on here, I should be allowed to without having the fear that someone would shockingly go to the Doctor to report what I am saying to him.

This is unbelievable...

Thanks to everyone that was supportive, I really truly appreciate it... whether your support was for Spinecor, or against it, we are all entitled to our opinions and I respect each and every opinion.

[BellasMom]

You must be kidding me .... This is outrageous and I can't even imagine how someone would do something like this.

You are totally entitled to your opinions and you are the only one who has a right to decide for your child

I am so sorry you have to go through this

[Pooka1]

This is unbelievable...

Bingo.

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[jillw]

MJB, Katie has marks like you refer to. in her case its where her thigh bands are - basically the skin is a little darker from the continuous pressure, but not bruised. My assumption is those marks will remain until she stops wearing the brace when they will begin to fade with time. I think marks or red spots are not uncommon regardless of the brace that is worn. I recall reading a study (although I don't remember where so I can't cite it) that looked into compliance in brace wearing and how to determine compliance. I forget if the study was aimed at Boston braces or TLSOs in general but one of the things mentioned was that seeing discoloration or thickening skin in pressure points would be a positive sign that the brace is in fact being worn. I don't know how it can be avoided while bracing is taking place.

[emarismom]

MJB,

First of all Congratulations on the new baby, they are such blessings.

I am so sorry to read that your daughter's curve has progressed, most, if not all of us here understand how you are feeling. At least you are now aware of it and can look for other possible ways to deal with it. Since the Spinecor has not worked in your case, there may be other braces or VBS that very well may work.

The thought of someone here running to "call" Dr. Rivard seems very far fetched. I would think it more believable that someone actually monitors these boards and reports back to him. Of course that is just MY opinion and it is based purely on speculation of things I have noticed over the 4-5 years I have been reading these boards. I could be wrong.

As for marks on the skin caused by the brace, my daughter had some very dark brown marks on her thighs for a long time. At least a year. I would plead with her not to put the thigh bands so tightly around her thighs. About six months ago she finally listened to me and the marks have faded almost completely. I was really worried that she would have permanent damage or scarring in that area. Thankfully that is not the case.

[BellasMom]

The thought of someone here running to "call" Dr. Rivard seems very far fetched. I would think it more believable that someone actually monitors these boards and reports back to him. Of course that is just MY opinion and it is based purely on speculation of things I have noticed over the 4-5 years I have been reading these boards. I could be wrong.

Either way, it sucks

I'll think long and hard now about what to post and what not to

[MJB]

MJB, Katie has marks like you refer to. in her case its where her thigh bands are - basically the skin is a little darker from the continuous pressure, but not bruised. My assumption is those marks will remain until she stops wearing the brace when they will begin to fade with time. I think marks or red spots are not uncommon regardless of the brace that is worn. I recall reading a study (although I don't remember where so I can't cite it) that looked into compliance in brace wearing and how to determine compliance. I forget if the study was aimed at Boston braces or TLSOs in general but one of the things mentioned was that seeing discoloration or thickening skin in pressure points would be a positive sign that the brace is in fact being worn. I don't know how it can be avoided while bracing is taking place.

Good to know... Well I hope that it gets lighter over time because it bothers her a lot. It is right where her crease where her thighs meet her torso... they look bluish black, like bruises, it's strange, it could also be because she has brown skin (well like brown).