“The Boston Brace made it so that she couldn’t sleep at night, she couldn’t eat or keep food down. She was losing weight and was very unhappy and scared. At Scoliosis 3DC®, it was the complete opposite.”
J. L., Boston (November 2015)
Do you think a scoliosis brace should do more than just halt progression? Is your child having trouble with the Boston Brace? Would you like your child to have the potential to improve scoliosis?
Bracing is the foundation of conservative treatment for adolescents with progressive scoliosis. While each case of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is different, if your child’s curvature is over 20 and (s)he still has growth potential, bracing is usually the most prudent path.
However, when it comes to scoliosis bracing, some of the concepts in use today–even by the best hospitals and facilities–are dated. The medical establishment’s stated goal for bracing scoliosis is halted progression. In the paper, A History of Bracing for Idiopathic Scoliosis in North America, the authors state, “The goals of brace treatment for AIS are to prevent progression of deformity and to obviate the need for spinal fusion, not to improve the deformity1.”
In our opinion, those goals are simply not ambitious enough for kids who require bracing. It’s one of the main reasons why we introduced the Gensingen Brace® here in the United States.
Like the Boston Brace, the Gensingen Brace is rigid but that is where the similarities end. Our scoliosis brace is made from a more forgiving and lighter weight material, and smaller in scale. The Gensingen Brace® differs significantly from the Boston Brace in that it is 3D and asymmetric in design. Both aim to halt a progressive scoliosis, but with the Gensingen Brace that’s the minimum–not the primary goal. The Gensingen strives for over-correction so its main advantage is to offer the potential to improve scoliosis by reducing Cobb angle(s) and improving posture2.
The Gensingen brace is more easily wearable than the Boston Brace as well. That’s according to the many kids we’ve switched from the Boston to the Gensingen. In fact, at least half of the kids we fit are able to sleep in their braces on the first night after their fitting. There is a much shorter adjustment period. Each Gensingen is custom-designed for the individual patient according to curve-pattern and all of them are Schroth method compatible. The brace voids, or strategically placed openings, allow for Schroth rotational breathing while the brace is being worn. Over time, this helps to derotate the spinal vertebrae and improves postural appearance.
In-brace corrections are consistently in the 30 – 50% range, with some patients attaining even better in-brace corrections in their Gensingen Brace depending on individual spinal flexibility. The potential to improve Cobb angle and create a better posture with improved wearability is a big win for our scoliosis patients. An essential element of effective bracing resulting in a successful outcome is comfort! Easier wearability usually leads to improved compliance, and less complaining! Since it’s been determined that amount of time in a brace factors into outcome (other factors will play a role as well), the importance of easier wearability can’t be overstated.
Each brace is designed from a 3D scan (no radiation) making brace measuring easy. Casting, although rarely used to create braces today, is eliminated due to CAD/CAM design. The importance of CAD/CAM standardization cannot be emphasized enough. 3D scanning means a less stressful and less invasive patient experience. Standardization offers improved accuracy in manufacture and fit. On the other hand, lack of standardization, a problem for some other Chêneau-style braces, leads to varied results. It’s one reason why some Rigo Chêneau braces share the same name but look and fit very differently (see photo below) depending on the person who makes and fits the brace. For more on this topic, read our blog entitled, Not All Chêneau Braces Are Created Equal.
Let’s face it, no child wants to wear a brace and no brace is ‘easy’ to wear, although once accustomed to it, many of our patients tell us they feel better in their brace! What’s important to know is that bracing has now improved beyond the limitations of compressive bracing–essentially a hard plastic shell that squeezes a child’s torso. Moreover, many of these braces are still manufactured to fasten in back. This alone makes it frustrating and difficult for a child to put their brace on and take it off. This takes away from their independence which is frustrating and counter-intuitive for what we want for our children.
We can confidently state that the Gensingen brace® is the best scoliosis brace available. This bold statement is based on the results we’ve seen patients achieve in Germany, in our own facility for the past decade plus, and by our colleagues in Europe and Asia. This statement has also been validated by patients who have worn various other scoliosis braces and switched to the Gensingen brace® for the potential to improve a previously progressive scoliosis.
If your child is having a difficult time wearing his/her Boston brace, struggling or progressing in a nighttime brace, or has another brace that you think could be improved upon, please call us to find out more about the potential of the Gensingen Brace® for your child. Our goal is to improve upon the scoliosis experience for each of our patients. A better brace may just be the starting point in terms of mood, attitude, comfort and most importantly outcome!
Managing scoliosis is an art as well as science. Applying the most up-to-date innovations is essential.
“She is tolerating the [Gensingen] brace she got in Boston much better than she ever tolerated the Boston brace. :)”
H.M., Guam (August 2015)
1Fayssoux RS, Cho RH, Herman MJ. A History of Bracing for Idiopathic Scoliosis in North America. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2010;468(3):654-664. doi:10.1007/s11999-009-0888-5.
2H R Weiss, M Moramarco (2013) Remodeling of trunk and back shape deformities in patients with scoliosis using standardized asymmetric CAD / CAM braces. Hard Tissue 2(2): 2. 14 Feb.
