Updated on March 10, 2019: Here in the US, most doctors do not recommend or offer, adult scoliosis bracing for patients with moderate or severe curves. Patients with pain, collapse, fatigue, and/or worries about scoliosis progression in adulthood are left with very few viable options for effective management. The thought of fusion surgery scares adults and most would rather avoid surgery for scoliosis due to the long-term risks and less than stellar outcomes reported.
Here at Scoliosis 3DC®, we offer adults with scoliosis the best scoliosis management models from Germany. One particularly effective tool we offer is adult scoliosis bracing with the Gensingen brace (GBW). It offers help for scoliosis patients who have struggled for years to find an effective way to manage their spinal curves. Patients who have elected to be fit with the Gensingen brace are extremely encouraged with the results they experience once fitted with their new scoliosis brace!
The Gensingen brace, a Chêneau scoliosis brace. is a custom-created and -fitted TLSO or LSO which resets the body due to the spinal and pelvic imbalances caused by scoliosis. In doing so, it can offer help with pain (an evaluation is required to determine if it can help), spinal stabilization, postural improvement, and added spinal support that some adults with moderate or severe scoliosis welcome at some point during the day. For more information about how the Gensingen brace helped one adult patient, you may want to read this scoliosis bracing study entitled, Scoliosis bracing and exercise for pain management in adults—a case report, published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.
Since we began to offer adult scoliosis bracing here at our clinic, we find that more and more adults are opting for it with each passing year.` It was created in Germany, by Dr. Hans-Rudolf Weiss. Each brace design is dictated by the spinal curve pattern each patient presents with, as determined by a 3D scan. Weiss is the grandson of Katharina Schroth, the creator of the Schroth method. He’s a scoliosis bracing expert whose braces are now used all over the world!
In addition to the study cited above, a retrospective study from France offers additional encouraging news on adult scoliosis bracing. The French study tested the effectiveness of underarm bracing for adults in slowing curve progression non-surgically. Underarm bracing is an outdated term used to differentiate TLSO and LSO braces from the Milwaukee brace (a CTLSO which is no longer widely used). That study found that underarm bracing may slow the rate of scoliosis progression in adulthood. The cohort included 38 adults with degenerative scoliosis and idiopathic scoliosis. The participants were all followed for a minimum of ten years prior to bracing and at least five years after bracing. All were fitted with a custom-molded orthosis. The study found that the average progression rate prior to bracing was 1.28° per year, which reduced to 0.21° per year after bracing (p<0.0001). This study is encouraging for adults with scoliosis seeking new ways to manage the condition. It is worth noting that, at the time of the adults in the study were received their scoliosis brace, the mean age was 61.3 ± 8.2 years and the mean Cobb angle was 49.6 ± 17.7 degrees.
While the Gensingen brace has not been studied long-term in relation to adult scoliosis progression (it hasn’t been around long enough for that yet), we think it is fair to extrapolate that it may also help slow or minimize scoliosis progression for adults who wear it. Many adults we’ve fit are very, very happy with their brace and results to date. They tell us that their scoliosis brace has improved their quality of life and provided peace of mind.
For more information, you can link to our page on scoliosis treatment for adults to learn more about our Schroth-based solutions. The Gensingen brace and the programs we offer are 100% compatible. The two work synergistically to offer help for scoliosis patients in ways that the traditional medical establishment does not.
The Gensingen brace is available at Scoliosis 3DC®, near Boston, with only a four-day turnaround. We have braced adults who never had scoliosis surgery, as well as others who have. If you are an adult, suffering from pain, spinal collapse or worries about scoliosis progression you may be a candidate for the Gensingen Brace. Call us or email at info@scoliosis3dc.com to learn more.
