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Wearing a Brace for Scoliosis Can Help Prevent Spinal Surgery

Home > News > Wearing a Brace for Scoliosis Can Help Prevent Spinal Surgery
Posted: Jan 15, 2016 | by Alice | 0 Comment

family, orthopaedic specialists, orthopaedic surgeon, pediatric orthopaedics, broken bones, children's surgery, Virginia Orthopaedic & Spine SpecialistsWearing a brace to treat scoliosis in adolescence can often prevent the need for spinal surgery.

The key is to wear the brace consistently and as directed by the child’s orthopaedic specialist, a new study finds.

Researchers figured this out after they placed sensors on braces that could detect how long they were worn by a group of adolescents. The youths were told they were being monitored and their results were discussed in follow-up appointments. Another group was also monitored, but not told they were wearing braces with sensors.

As a result, the group that knew they were being monitored kept their brace on longer – everyday.

“Patients who were aware that their device measured brace use, wore their brace, on average, an additional three hours each day,” said orthopaedic surgeon and lead study author Lori Karol, MD, in a news release from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Scoliosis is a condition that causes the spine to curve sideways. Several different types of scoliosis can affect children and adolescents. The most common is idiopathic scoliosis, which means the cause of the condition is not known.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, also found that patients who wore their brace were less likely to require surgery by 11 percent, due to less spinal progression.

Those who were able to avoid surgery wore their brace a little more than an additional two hours per day.

The average curve magnitude at the start of bracing was comparable at the start of the study: 33.2 degrees in the counseled group and 33.9 in the non-counseled group.

The study also showed:

  • Daily brace wear during the initial 180-day time period averaged 15 hours in the counseled group and 12.5 hours in the non-counseled group.
  • Counseled patients who completed bracing averaged 13.8 hours per day of orthotic wear during the entire course of bracing, compared with 10.8 hours per day for patients who did not receive compliance reports.
  • The spinal curve did not progress more than 6 degrees between the start of bracing and brace termination in 59 percent of patients in the counseled group, and 36 percent of patients in the non-counseled group.

“Shared information between the teen, parents, orthotist (who oversees the creation and fit of the custom brace), and physician resulted in improved brace compliance,” said Dr. Karol. “These findings emphasize the role that open doctor-patient communication plays in encouraging treatment effectiveness in the adolescent age group.”

+ Learn about The Spine Center of Hampton Roads which helps patients of all ages with spine conditions and back and neck pain. Our specialists use X-ray, MRI, CT, bone scan and other advanced diagnostic tools to evaluate each patient’s individual needs. Physical therapy is available at Bon Secours In Motion Physical Therapy locations throughout Hampton Roads. 

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