Prevention through bracing in young adults

There is overwhelming evidence that bracing in young adults diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, the most common and insidious form of the disease, is so effective that the need for surgery is completely prevented.

This was the finding of a clinical trial undertaken across 25 sites in the USA and Canada back in 2013. The trial was chaired by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Visit NIAMS (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) with the participation of several hospitals.

Firstly, what is idiopathic scoliosis. It is a lateral curvature of the spine plus rotation of the vertebrae that without treatment can leave an affected person deformed for life. Signs of scoliosis are usually noticed when a sufferer is a child or adolescent when asymmetry of the shoulders or legs becomes obvious to family members. When the curvature reaches 50 degrees, which it will without intervention, surgery is often touted as the only treatment left.

This study proves otherwise. In fact, the trial was so successful that it was stopped partway through to ensure all cohorts of the study were receiving the proven treatment.

Nearly 400 adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis were recruited for the trial just so we could determine once and for all if bracing was preventing scoliosis from worsening the condition and correcting the deformation it caused. When subjects wore a brace for 13 hours a day, a success rate over 90% was observed. In fact, even wearing a brace intermittently made a positive difference on subjects’ spine.

The efficacy of the treatment is indisputable. Yet, that does not make it any easier for any child to endure long hours wearing a brace daily. Doctors will even prescribe wearing a brace for 18 hours a day in some cases. Bracing intervention is proven to be successful but the degree of improvement is purely based on the patient’s ability to stick with the prescribed treatment. Perhaps simply knowing those indisputable results are waiting, like light at the end of the tunnel, will help another adolescent persevere through the discomfort in the short term to go on and live a life with a lot less back pain.

 
To find out more about how bracing could benefit your adolescent, check out some of the Bad Backs shoulder and posture braces, designed to provide support and tension where you need it most.